Hugo stared at his phone in shock, blinking wildly. He stared so long that the screen darkened and eventually turned off. He drummed his fingers against the edge of his work desk, unsure of what to do.

"You good over there, kiddo?" Robert asked from the other side of the room, voice laced with amusement. Hugo shook his head and held up his phone for his boss to see.

Stefan: I'm sorry this is so last minute. But my parents decided they wanted to have dinner with us tonight. So instead of you coming over here, I'm picking you up and we're heading over there

Stefan: Don't freak out, I swear my parents will love you

"Oh," Robert muttered. "That's big." That was an understatement. They'd only been together a few weeks. They hadn't even gone further than light touching yet. Although, that was mostly Hugo's fault. He wanted to; he was just nervous.

But parents were a whole other thing. He had no idea what he was doing. He'd never been in a relationship before. Would Stefan's parents even like him? He'd probably met them at Stefan's party when he was drunk and stupid, but he didn't remember it. He was awful with faces. And besides, Stefan would be introducing him as a boyfriend now, not just a friend.

They would question him about everything and try to figure out if he was a good match for their son. And knowing his luck, they'd probably say he wasn't because he was an anxious mess who couldn't even speak. Or maybe it wouldn't matter, Stefan was deaf after all. They'd want someone for their son who was actually able to do the things everyone else could. He couldn't be that.

"Hugo, it'll be fine. You're a good kid, I'm sure they'll like you," Robert said, pulling him from his thoughts. Part of him didn't believe the words, but he put it down to the surprise of having to meet Stefan's parents. If he had had more time to prepare himself, he might have been alright. "It means you'll have to take him to meet your dad at some point."

Hugo hummed in response, finally signing the words he'd been thinking since he and Stefan got together. "I don't think I am going to get him to meet dad."

"Why not?"

"I know that the instant I do, he's going to bring up me speaking again, I don't want to deal with it. I don't want Stefan to deal with it either. Dad doesn't even know I have a boyfriend," he explained. "The point of me moving out was to get away from him. I know it sounds bad, but I don't want him in my life anymore. I have dinner with him every so often, but that's all I want."

He winced as the words settled in the room, waiting for Robert's reply. He knew his boss would never take his father's side in anything, they hated each other, but Hugo still cared about his opinion. "That makes sense," he said. "It's your decision. You should tell Stefan that too."

"I will." He wasn't sure when, but he would have to at some point. Stefan would understand, he knew that much, but that didn't stop him from being nervous about telling him. Or maybe it was just the nerves from having to meet his parents.

Robert sighed and squeezed his shoulder. "Forget about it for now, alright? You've still got a couple of hours and a whole heap of work to do," he said, back in boss mode. Hugo nodded in response and put his phone back in his pocket. He could distract himself with work for a while and hopefully not think about the night that was about to come.

It didn't work completely, but for a couple of hours, he was less nervous than he usually would have been. Tech was fixed underneath his fingers and he let himself be carried away by the task. Always in the back of his mind was the fact that he and Stefan would be advancing even further into their relationship.

Before he could properly get used to the idea, his shift was over and Stefan stood in the main room of the store, waiting patiently for him to get his things. Robert grabbed him by the wrist before he left and gave him a soothing smile. "You're going to be fine, kiddo," he said. He nodded back but didn't say anything.

Stefan didn't say anything until they were sat in the car together, facing each other with worried frowns. "I didn't mean to spring this on you so suddenly," he muttered, reaching over to run a hand down his arm. "They wanted to know what I was doing tonight. I said I was with you, so they suggested I bring you over as well. They wouldn't listen when I told them that you weren't good with pressure like that."

Hugo shook his head and smiled despite the awful feeling in his stomach. "It's alright. I'm fine, I promise," he replied.

Stefan didn't look like he believed him. "They're going to like you, I know that much. I just also know that you're nervous," he said and turned on the ignition. "We're going to be late if we don't leave now. You can put on your music too. I have a playlist for it."

"Thank you." He grabbed Stefan's phone as the car pulled away from the store. The relaxing sounds of his classical music drifted in the car and he closed his eyes. He had no idea Stefan had made a playlist for him. Something about it made butterflies swarm in his stomach.

The drive was shorter than he'd thought it would be and soon enough he found himself standing outside the house Stefan had had his party at. It brought back bad memories. He hadn't repeated his drunken mistake yet, but it still weighed on him. He was still guilty about it, even though he was sure Stefan had forgotten about it.

"We're here!" Stefan called as he unlocked and opened the front door. The sound of voices drifted down the hall and Hugo's stomach felt like it was going to burst. He barely remembered the house from his drunken rage, but he did remember how close the kitchen and dining room was from him.

A head poked around the wall. "Stefan!" a thickly accented voice said. "Come, come, come, we're about to dish up."

"Be there in a second," Stefan called back before turned to Hugo and tipping his head up to face him. "So, that was my mum, I'll introduce you properly in a minute. Are you okay?"

Hugo took a moment to respond, wide eyes staring down the hall. "I think so." How the hell was he supposed to deal with it? Stefan didn't give him a chance to figure it out, only grabbed his hand and tugged him down the hall.

A man and a woman stood in the kitchen, waiting for whatever was in the oven to cook. The woman at the bench rushed forward and enveloped Stefan in what looked like a crushing hug. "Hello, mum," he said with a laugh, hugging her back.

She pulled away to grin at Hugo. "Is this Hugo?" she asked and they both nodded. "Hi! I'm Marzipan, I'm Stefan's mum!" Before he could get a chance to reply, he too was wrapped in a tight hug. He smiled at hugged her back as best he could, glaring at Stefan when he laughed. "Have you eaten yet? Dinner's almost ready."

Hugo blinked as he pulled back, trying to wrap his head around the question. "No, I just finished work, I haven't had time."

"Good, good, we've made planet," Marzipan said, turning toward her son. "Have you been eating properly, Stefan?"

"Marzipan, they're fine, leave them be," a male voice called, and a man Hugo assumed to be Stefan's father stepped into view. "The food's ready."

Stefan's mother made a noise and shuffled towards the oven. "I'll give you two an extra big helping," she called, Stefan's father laughing as she went.

"This is normal, no need to look so panicked, kid. If you can't finish what she gives you, it's all good," the man said and held out his hand for him to shake. "I'm Stefan's father, you can call me Henry." The man's grip was tight, but his smile was polite. Unlike his wife, he didn't have a European accent. The European side of Stefan's family must be his mother's.

"Nice to meet you both," Hugo replied, eyes drifting over to Stefan as he sat down across from him.

Marzipan dropped heaping plates of food on the table in front of them and gave a wide smile. Stefan sat down next to him, pressing his hand to his knee for a brief second. Hugo gave him a small smile. His nervousness was still there, it would be there all night, but after the greetings, he wasn't as nervous.

"So, Hugo," Henry started in the middle of their meal and Hugo felt his stomach shrivel at the words. If he didn't finish his dinner, it wouldn't be because there was too much, it would be because he was too anxious to eat. The questioning was about to begin. "Are you the one working with Tomas on his book?"

To reply, Hugo had to put his cutlery down. "Yes, I just finished editing it the other day."

"Is that what you do for work?" Marzipan asked.

"Sort of," Hugo replied with a slight shake of his head. "I've just started up freelancing again. I used to do it in high school. Tomas is my first client." He was sure that he usually wouldn't have to talk to his clients' families when he got further into the business. This is what he got for working with his boyfriend's brother.

"So, what do you do for work instead?"

"I fix laptops and phones."

"Oh, tech-savvy, huh?" Henry said with raised eyebrows. "Maybe you could teach Marz some stuff, she's absolutely hopeless at doing anything on the computer." At his words, Stefan snickered and Marzipan smacked her husband in the arm.

"I wish Renee could be here tonight, we did invite her," Marzipan said. "Do you know what she's up to, Stefan?"

Stefan took a moment to think before he replied. "I think she's got one of her poetry nights again. She always goes to see her friends." Hugo had almost forgotten about the poetry nights. It had been so long since he'd gone to one. He didn't enjoy them anywhere near as much as Renee did.

"Ah, how lovely," Stefan's mother said before she turned back to Hugo. "Are you and Renee friends? Stefan hasn't told us much except that you're mute."

"And that you are, apparently, 'really cute'," Henry added, making quotation marks with his fingers.

Next to him, Stefan turned red. "Dad!" he yelled.

"What?" Henry asked when Hugo huffed out a laugh. "This was half to meet Hugo, half to embarrass you. It's my job after all." Hugo was still laughing, but an awful thought forced him to stop. This kind of thing would never happen if he brought Stefan to meet his father. It only made him more certain that it would never happen.

He took a moment to swallow and drop his cutlery again before he replied to Marzipan. "I actually met Renee first. We do the same course at university," he explained. "I met Stefan through her."

"Oh, how lovely," Marzipan said and then pointed at her son with her fork. "This is why you should tell us these things. Use your words, Stefan."

"Yes, mum," Stefan said and Hugo let out a tiny laugh. Stefan's hand met his knee again, but instead of a soothing touching, it was a joking smack. "Stop laughing at me."

Hugo shrugged and went back to eating his food as Stefan's parents continued to tease him. So far, the dinner seemed to be going alright. He didn't know what he'd been so nervous about. Stefan's parents were nice. Maybe he'd been thinking they'd be like his dad.

He hoped that if his mother had still been alive, she would have liked Stefan. He seemed like the kind of person she would have gotten along with, the kind of person she would have been happy for her son to date. He would like to think that his mother would be proud of him for how far he'd come. Six months ago, and he would never have been able to talk to Stefan, let alone go on dates with him and meet his parents. He'd never be able to ask, but he was sure his mother would be proud.

The dinner passed by slowly, filled with many questions about Hugo's life. He did have to explain that his mother was dead, which made his heart ache, but they'd been understanding about it. Stefan's hand on his knee helped as well, giving him a comforting presence. He explained his coursework and his dreams of editing and his work. He laughed along with them when they made jokes and by the time he finished his food, he had a permanent smile on his face.

"So," Stefan said as they walked out of the house after dinner, his family waving to them from the doorway. "I told you they'd like you."

"They liked me?" Hugo asked, realising it was a stupid question after he said it.

Stefan laughed at him. "Yes, obviously. How could they not?" he said and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Did you want to stay the night?" he asked as they got into the car.

Stefan smiled and kissed him again. "Of course."