Nobody's Dreaming (Romano Vargas x Reader :: boyfriend scenarios+story)

CHAPTER ONE

     You and Lovino were at an awkward emotional standstill. A mess, essentially; the two of you had been shaking hands in a feeling between friendship and romance, mutually unwilling to commit to either. You had kissed, once, twice, maybe three times, but each one was founded on social desirability and curiosity rather than deep interest. Weeks were littered with brushing hands, misplaced gazes, and internal turmoil.
     In short, it was complicated. It was unanimously exhausting.
     Both parties had been avoiding each other relentlessly in an attempt to stave off the mounting conflict when Feliciano miraculously announced he had scheduled a trip to Chicago.
     "What's so good about Chicago?" Lovino narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother expectantly. Of course, you viewed this interaction on the opposite side of the room, as avoidance was proving to be the best problem-solver thus far. Feliciano was hovering between you both, oblivious to the situation.
     "Hey! There are lots of things that are cool about Chicago!" Feliciano contemplated for a few moments. After a solid six seconds, it was obvious he had come up empty, but words spewed forth anyway. "They have stuff. Buildings. The big ones."
     "The Space Needle." You interjected, knowing nothing about Chicago.
     "Okay, you know what? Fuck the Space Needle. No way in hell I'll go with you." Lovino sighed, crossing his arms. "Who else did you invite?"
     "It's a surprise."
     "That idiot Ludwig, then?" Feliciano laughed nervously in the face of an undeniable truth, inadvertently confirming his brother's accusation.
     "Anyway," He began, sidestepping the question. "Please come. I already paid."
     "I can go, Feli." You responded. "Chicago sounds fun."
     "I guess I have to go then, too." Lovino said, standing up and stretching.
     "Literally nobody said you had to go." His brother retorted.
     "What? You invited me, dick! I can't change my mind?"

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

     You were, to say the least, stoked to go to Chicago, uncharacteristically packing an entire week in advance to visit the apparent home of the Space Needle. The morning of incident finally arrived, bringing with it fumbling fingers and cups of crappy coffee.
     Feliciano was picking you up. You lived in Nevada at current, which cut down your travel time by a relatively large margin; especially seeing as everyone else was coming from wherever-the-fuck in Europe. The plan, as laid out by Feli through several sporadic, broken texts, was to meet up in Nevada and take a train from there to Chicago. The train left at 4 a.m., much to your dismay.
     "Good morning, you." Feliciano winked, leaning against the frame of your apartment door. "The gang is here, too. They're outside."
     It was 3:26 a.m., and you were as excited as one could be at such at a morbid time. The Italian boy was courteous enough to help you move your things down the set of stairs that filtered out of your apartment. Considering you had to carry everything you were to bring with you on a lengthy train ride, you had sensibly compiled everything into two bags—a larger, wheeled one, and a smaller, carry-on type backpack. All in all, as a side note, you were feeling pretty cute and seasonally appropriate, what with your light jacket and all.
     You took a final glance at your room. You would miss it a little, sure, but one can only miss overpriced studio apartments so much. With that, you and Feli headed out.
     "You absolute idiot shit." The sound of Lovino's lovely voice pierced through the early-riser traffic outside as you entered the final stretch of staircase. "Newton invented calculus." As you made it to the sidewalk where he was standing, he whipped around. "Oh my God, (Y/n). Who the fuck invented calculus?" Before you could reply, someone else cut in.
     "I wasn't saying he didn't invent it. I just said Leibniz invented it at the same time." Ludwig argued. "Feliciano, please curb your brother."
     "Stop it, Lovino." He stated unconvincingly. "Where's Gilbert?" You were intrigued with this newfound knowledge that Ludwig's brother would be tagging along. Most likely, at the mention of Ludwig going, he had invited himself to come. While annoying, you knew that Gilbert was a somewhat reputable wingman, and a tiny sliver of you hoped that he would do you a solid with Lovino.
     "In the bathroom." Ludwig replied, shifting his backpack on his shoulders.
     Lovino shuffled closer to you, apparently bored with bickering. "Hey, (y/n)." He greeted, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Cool to see you."
     You nodded in response, content with the fact Lovino obviously favored you. It looked like mutual avoidance had run its course.
     "You too."
     A couple awkward seconds floated by, which was pathetically routine. Thankfully, a saving grace mixed it up.
     "I'm back, losers." Gilbert half-yelled, half-panted, jogging into the group. "High-five, dude." He choked up between breaths, holding up a hand to nobody in particular. After a few moments, it was apparent nobody was going to high-five him. Unphased, he retreated to folding his arms over his chest.
     "You ran the whole way?" Ludwig asked, unimpressed.
     "Hell yeah I did."
     "Alright! I think that means it's time to go." Handing your bag back to you, Feliciano gestured in the approximate direction of the train station. The adventure was commencing.