Antonio entered the fashion district with a lump in his throat, suddenly worried that Lovino might find his visit mildly creepy and stalker-esque. Regardless of this fear, he wandered off looking for the Armani store, determined to reunite with Lovino. Upon seeing the Armani logo sitting under the picturesque arches of the building, he looked down at himself and cringed. He was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts with a long oil stain on the left side. The Spaniard felt severely underdressed. 

Knowing he probably looked like he had wandered off the street in search of a bathroom, Antonio figured couldn't just walk into the store and ask for Lovino by name. That might look a bit odd. He leaned against the edifice for a minute, crafting a story to figure out what he was going to do once he managed his way into the store. 

After a minute or so of not-so-foolproof planning, Antonio strutted through the ornate glass doors to be greeted by horrified stares from the security guard at the entrance and a woman standing near a display of sunglasses. He must've looked far too rambunctous for a luxury clothing store. Almost immediately the woman standing near the glasses plastered on a fake smile and approached him. 

"Can I help you with anything today, sir?" she asked with the same cadence as a person who just witnessed someone pick their nose in church. Antonio most-certainly looked like he had walked into the store by accident. 

"Yes. My friend is getting married and I want to be the second most-dashing man there" Antonio replied with his ever-so-charming smile. The woman shifted her stance and giggled as his flirtatious allure changed her initial assumption of his character. "I'm thinking a navy suit."

"Sounds dashing to me" she replied with a coquetish glance, "I'll go get Lovino. He is our in-house suit expert." Antonio nearly let out a sigh of relief. Sometimes he was very glad for his ability to flirt with women. The skill was never necessary, but it came in handy on numerous occassions. 

The woman returned a few moments later and gestured towards a doorway that Antonio assumed led into the fitting rooms. "You can take a seat in there, he'll be back in a moment" she spoke, giving one last smile as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. 

"Thank you" Antonio shot back, trying to remain composed as he passed through the doorway into a room containing a ridiculous amount of suit jackets. Everything about the store was cold. The marble floors, the metal racks, and the black trim made him feel very out of place with his ratty sneakers and messy hair. He was just glad that the woman at the front wasn't outwardly verbally judgemental when he first walked into the store. 

He took a seat on one of the oddly-shaped black sofas, twiddling his thumbs as he prepared for Lovino's entrance. A minute or so later, he heard footsteps and saw a familiar-looking man enter the room, looking down at a Giorgio Armani-labelled iPad in his hand. It was definitely Lovino. Antonio was not one to get nervous, but he suddenly could not speak. The Spaniard shot up from the couch suddenly, not wanting to be seated for this reunion. 

The round-faced, sweet Italian boy had transformed into a handsome young man, with a sharp jawline and piercing amber eyes. Antonio felt slightly intimidated, his former best friend looking incredibly sleek in a suit that fit him like a runway model. His hair, still chocolate brown and slightly curly, fell onto his face so perfectly that Antonio wondered how it was possible. The only thing Antonio could find on him that was out of place was the pesky curl he had always tried to slick down. The man looked expensive, and held himself as if he knew that. 

Besides the fact that Antonio genuinely could not muster up a sound at the sight of his long-lost best friend, Lovino had always been a shy kid and Antonio didn't want to freak him out with a sudden ambush. Instead he waited for the Italian to look up from the iPad.

Lovino looked up with a typical customer service smile before jerking his head back slightly. His eyes widened as if trying to place where he recognized Antonio's face. Antonio could tell that he was searching for an answer before eventually brushing it off and plastering the smile back on his face.

"Hello, my name is Lovino. I will be assisting you today. My associate said you were looking for a suit for a wedding. I am here to help. I just need your last name and then we can take a look at some options" Lovino began, staring into Antonio's eyes as he continued to try and figure out why the man in front of him looked so familiar. 

"Fernandez" Antonio stated with a smile, eliciting an incredulous look from Lovino. The Italian typed the last name into the iPad, trying to pull it together and be professional. There were so many people who had that last name in the world. But he only knew of one. In the moment, Lovino was overwhelmingly tempted to ask for a first name, but it was against store policy and he was not trying to get fired. 

"My associate said you were thinking of a navy blue?" Lovino questioned, now back to complete professionalism, trying to ignore the ridiculously familiar look of the man he was helping. 

"Um- yeah- or whatever is good for a wedding" Antonio lied with a chuckle, nervously placing a hand on the back of his neck as he tried to figure out a way to reveal who he really was. He had gotten himself way too far into this situation and now it was too awkward to back out.

Lovino took a few steps forward, examining Antonio closely to try and make a decision about which colors, fabrics, and fit would suit him best. Antonio stood there awkwardly, his face flushed slightly as Lovino stared into him like he was trying to crack a code. Antonio couldn't tell if it was part of the process or the Italian was slowly figuring out who he was. 

"You have warm skin and quite striking green eyes. I think a deep olive suit might be a better look on you for a wedding. Navy blue is vey business-y. Granted, you'd probably still look good in navy, I  just think green is really your color" Lovino explained charmingly before looking down at his iPad and typing in a few notes. 

"Sounds good to me" Antonio replied, smirking slightly at Lovino's assessment. Striking green eyes. He was suddenly feeling a bit less out of his depth. Lovino was definitely a good salesmen. Lovino left shortly and returned with a button-up, jacket, and pants in his arms. 

"Try these on in the room to the left and we'll see how it fits when you come back out" Lovino ordered, leading Antonio to the changing room before placing the garments on the bench inside the small space. Antonio put the outfit on quickly and checked himself out in the mirror. He had never worn a suit so expensive. He felt quite fancy. 

When he strode out of the changing room, really impressed with the suit, he was met by a judemental stare of the Italian. Suddenly feeling less confident at the up and down glance of Lovino, he wiped the smile off his face and stood there, uncertain of how he looked in the expert's eyes. 

"Definitely your color" Lovino suddenly blurted, sending a rush of relief through Antonio. "Come stand here so I can fix a few things." Antonio obliged and stood on the spot where the Italian was pointing, looking in the direction of a mirror in front of him as the Italian assessed what needed to be done. 

A few moments of silence passed as Lovino tried to straighten out the suit, fiddling with the lapels and pockets in an attempt at making it look as perfect as possible. Antonio stood as still as a statue, looking at himself in the mirror with an impressed look on his face. The suit made him look the best he had ever seen himself. He found himself involuntarily puckering his lips in the mirror, looking ridiculous as he admired how handsome he looked. Lovino continued to fix the cuffs at the bottom of the pants and Antonio tried to remain still. 

"I'm actually in charge of talent-scouting for Armani in Rome. I was wondering if you were interested in possibly modeling? You have the perfect look for the brand" Lovino suddenly asked as he brushed the shoulders of Antonio's suit, looking into the mirror to assess the fit. 

Antonio paused for a moment, shocked at the request. He had never even thought about modeling, and he definitely did not think he had the look. He was flattered. "I- eh- have never really thought about modeling. I just graduated university and I'm on the job hunt. I guess I'll think about it" Antonio replied, letting out a light chuckle as his face turned a few shades pinker. He usually never got so flustered. This situation was really pushing him out of his own comfort zone. 

"Giorgio would love you. The next time I'm at the Milan office I'll pass on your contact information" Lovino said, "Just put your name, phone number, and email in the excel sheet and I'll get back to you." Lovino handed him the iPad he had been holding. Antonio looked down at the screen and saw the excel sheet labelled "Talent Scouting Fall Season - Rome; Vargas". It had a few names on it already, which wasn't surprising. Antonio had noticed during his walkthrough of the fashion district that Rome was filled with an absurd amount of attractive men. The Spaniard put all his contact information into the document and handed the iPad back to Lovino, cringing at Lovino's inevitable reaction to the information.

 "Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo" Lovino muttered under his breath, seemingly having a moment of realization. He looked over at Antonio with an expression that could only be described as pure annoyance. "You fucking dickhead!" Lovino shouted, playfully hitting Antonio in the chest with a closed fist. Antonio grimaced apologetically, knowing Lovino probably wanted to kill him. 

"Why didn't you just introduce yourself like a normal person you idiot?" Lovino uttered, his face now bright red. He didn't exactly know how to act now that Antonio was actually standing in front of him. 

"I didn't really know how to casually say, 'Hey Lovino I'm in Rome on a trip and I came to the Armani store to say Hi because your little brother told me you work here' in a way that wasn't creepy-sounding" Antonio admitted, eliciting a stifled laugh from the Italian. Antonio was suddenly glad Lovino was comfortable enough to hit and yell at him upon seeing him for the first time in over a decade. It's almost like he had never left Italy. 

"Fair. But why are you in Rome?" Lovino asked, curious as to why the man would return after so many years. Antonio paused, a slight feeling of panic shrouding his body as he tried to come up with an excuse. 

"I'm moving to Madrid in a week and I had nothing to do in the meantime. I figured a trip to my childhood home wouldn't hurt. I wasn't expecting to run into Feli but he found me outside the house and told me you worked here" Antonio lied, not wanting Lovino to know that a bottle cap eliciting the sudden urge to reconnect with a childhood love was the only reason he was in Rome. 

"Lucky timing" Lovino muttered, looking at Antonio in disbelief. 

"Definitely" Antonio said quietly, fiddling with his hands slightly out of nervousness. Something about Lovino made him anxious. The Spaniard was usually known for his sunny and confident disposition, but in front of Lovino, he grew terribly quiet. Maybe it was the way they left off. Unfinished business and unsaid words can often do that to a dynamic. "Do you want to catch up some time? I'm in Rome for the week and don't have much to do."

"'I'd like that" Lovino replied, suddenly softening his expression to the surprise of Antonio. "I can do dinner tonight if that's good for you."

"Sounds great! Where?" Antonio asked. 

"You can come to my place. I'll cook" Lovino suggested, catching Antonio off guard. 

"Wow you can cook? Last time I remembered the only things you would eat were whole tomatoes and whole balls of buffalo mozarella" Antonio joked.

"Contrary to popular belief I am no longer six years old" Lovino shot back sarcastically, eliciting a chuckle from Antonio. 

"Fine then, sounds good. We can discuss my modelling contract then" Antonio teased, causing Lovino's face to flush slightly. A few seconds of mortifying silence passed as Lovino struggled to come up with a response. 

"Just- take my number and I'll text you the address" Lovino said with an exasperated sigh, handing Antonio his Armani business card with a pained expression on his face. Antonio smirked at the Italian's embarrassment. "And keep the suit. I get a free uniform once every couple of months. You definitely need it. Those shorts belong in the trash bin." 

"Can't say that didn't hurt. But thank you" Antonio replied before sliding into the changing room and quickly changing. He put Lovino's number into his phone and texted him the suit and tie emoji so that Lovino could text him the address later. 

Walking out of the changing room, he handed the suit back to Lovino. Lovino dissapeared for a moment before returning with the bag. "All set then" Lovino stated, handing the bag to Antonio with a straight face, trying to hide his excitement for their dinner. 

"See you tonight" Antonio replied suavely before taking the bag and heading towards the exit. 

"Addio, Antonio" Lovino let out, his expression soft as he watched Antonio head out of the store. Reconnecting over dinner was definitely going to be interesting. Both of them had unfinished business they wanted to resolve.