#feli got his psychic powers from nonno vargas

[thatsamericano]

How Nonno Vargas Figures Out About Romerica And Tells Alfred He’s Okay With It

I haven’t started the Italy trip portion of this story yet, but when I do, I picture Nonno Vargas taking one look at Romerica when he meets FrUK and their sons and going “okay, these two are not just stepbrothers.” He makes some joking comment about how he assumed Alfred was Savino’s boyfriend when they walked in, Savino denies it while internally panicking, Feli distracts their Nonno by talking about Ludwig and showing him a picture on his phone, and Nonno Vargas lets it go. He (and some OC Vargas aunts/uncles) might notice some odd stuff while FrUKSpa plus the kids are visiting like the way they sit so close together or play footsie under the dinner table. But if anyone points out any of this, Antonio might be like “Yes, isn’t it nice how close they are as friends?” and they’re like “ok, this is a little strange, but if Antonio’s fine with it I don’t care.” There will definitely be sightseeing stuff in Italy, because the FACE family hasn’t been there before. Maybe one time Romerica go on a date they can brush off as Savino wanting to show his stepbrother something in Rome that’s not one of the bigger tourism attractions (I’d have to research for something that might not be on the immediate list for a first time tourist to go see but something an Italian native might want to show a friend/romantic partner). So, Nonno Vargas has some suspicions, but nothing concrete.

Then on Christmas Day, Romerica get each other these super thoughtful presents. I’m thinking Savino got Alfred a telescope because of his space nerd tendencies that Savino noticed, and Alfred got Savino college-level textbooks in things he thinks Savino might actually consider studying in college as a major (culinary arts, fine art, botany). I haven’t mentioned Alfred Christmas shopping for Savino in this story, and that’s because he got him his Christmas present back in September after there was a college fair at their school. Nonno Vargas is really struck by the fact that Alfred got Savino’s Christmas present before he seemed to get one for his brother or his fathers and that he was thinking about what his “friend” would want to study in college instead of what he wants to do himself. Romerica are extremely grateful for the presents, and there’s hugging/cheek kissing that isn’t explicitly romantic because it’s in front of their parents, but Nonno Vargas can tell what’s going on based on the way they talk about why they picked out the presents for each other, look at each other, and act around each other.

The next day, Nonno Vargas takes Alfred aside and shows him an old photo album of him and his wife getting married when they’re 18/19 years old. (If she’s alive, I’ll edit in some earlier mentions for her and have her as at least a background character while they’re in Italy. If not, I’ll have Nonno Vargas briefly mention her death and talk about how he cherished all their decades together.) Alfred is like, “I appreciate that you’re showing me this, Mr. Vargas, but is there a reason you decided to show me a photo album of you getting married to your wife?” Nonno Vargas laughs and replies, “Because yesterday, when you were giving Savino his Christmas present, you looked at my grandson the same way I looked at my wife on our wedding day.” Alfred starts to panic, and Nonno Vargas explains how he fell in love young once too, and he understands that young people can sometimes have very serious, permanent feelings for each other because he did. He makes some kind of joke about how he had to work to get his wife’s family to approve of him but was fortunate enough that he and his wife’s parents weren’t married to each other, and he says he understands that their situation “isn’t traditional” but that Romerica will have his support as long as Alfred keeps looking at Savino like that.