Stefan opened the door to the shop with a wide grin. "Hi, Hugo," he said when he saw him standing at the counter. Robert stood next to him, flicking through the forms of the people that had come into the shop that day. He glanced up at him for a brief moment but didn't say a word.

"Hi," Hugo replied with a shy smile. He'd been looking forward to seeing him all day. It was just a movie marathon, nothing special, but it would still be fun. "Give me five minutes to get my stuff."

His bag had been packed half an hour ago and had been sitting on his desk since then, waiting for Stefan to come along and whisk him away. He liked his job, but it was tiring. So many people were coming in with broken laptops because they'd forgotten about them until classes started back up again and they desperately needed them. It tired both him and Robert out.

"Hugo!" Robert called as he walked towards the door. "I'm going to need you in an hour earlier tomorrow. We have a lot of stuff to do. I know you've got plans, but I'm going to need help."

"Of course," Hugo replied with a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow." With one final smile, he followed Stefan out the door and to his car.

They didn't talk much on the way to Stefan's apartment because there was no way he could drive and watch Hugo's hands at the same time. Instead, Stefan let him put on his music. He'd confided in him once that the classical music helped him relax, so whenever they were alone in the car, Stefan would let him put in on.

He hummed along with it, letting the sounds of the cello and violin wash over him. They were his favourite instruments. They never failed to relax him. Stefan made a noise at some point but shook his head when Hugo gave him a questioning look.

"Did you want takeout for dinner, or did you want me to cook something?" Stefan asked when they pulled up outside the apartment building.

Hugo shrugged. "I don't really mind, whatever works for you," he answered. Although in reality, he wanted more of Stefan's cooking. He was an amazing cook and Hugo couldn't get enough of the meals he made.

"I think I have enough stuff to cook up something. I need to go shopping," Stefan said and got out of the car, gesturing for Hugo to follow. Hugo mentally celebrated, excited for a decent home-cooked meal. He hadn't had one since he moved out. His cooking wasn't awful most of the time, but it definitely wasn't the nicest thing he'd eaten.

He tapped the other man on the shoulder to get his attention. "Think you can teach me some stuff?" he asked. "You've seen my cooking. We had to get a whole new frying pan."

Stefan laughed, the joyful sound shaking his entire body. "I think all you need to know is to not look away from the stove," he said.

"What about flavour? My stuff is so bland."

"I can teach you a thing or two about that, I guess," Stefan said with a shrug as he unlocked the door to his apartment. It was as messy as it always was, but Hugo was slowly getting used to it. Maybe one day they would give him permission to clean it.

Stefan went straight for the kitchen, moving things around the cupboards until he found what he was after. All he had was the ingredients for pasta, but Hugo didn't mind. Usually, anything Stefan cooked tasted amazing, even if it was all he'd been eating for the last couple of days.

"I should have some herbs and spices in one of the other cupboards," Stefan said, gesturing vaguely around him. "Could you grab them?" Hugo had no idea which ones he would need, but he nodded anyway and sifted through the cupboards while Stefan sorted out the pots and pans.

Stefan guided him through the meal with gentle words. He taught him which herbs to use and how much of them to use. He got him to stir the sauce while he made sure the pasta didn't stick together. Occasionally, it would spit as it simmered and burn his hand. He dropped the wooden spoon into the pan at least twice, causing Stefan to laugh at him and fish it out with a fork.

By the time the meal was ready to serve, Hugo had pasta sauce all over his hands and wrists. Never before had cooking been that messy, but it was fun to do with Stefan. He liked making him laugh, liked the feeling it gave him, the butterflies that swarmed from his stomach to his chest.

"How did I go?" Hugo asked as Stefan spooned pasta and sauce into little bowls.

He shrugged and looked down at the food. "I dunno. We'll try it and find out." Hugo watched in silence as Stefan took a forkful of food and put it in his mouth, trying to ignore how his lips moved. It was too weird to get flustered over someone eating. He waited in patient silence as the other man chewed and swallowed, eager to hear what he said. "Holy crap, that's good."

Hugo beamed at him, satisfaction coursing through his veins. He made a meal that tasted good and that Stefan, the master of cooking, liked. He couldn't take his eyes away from Stefan's face as he dropped the fork back into the bowl and met his gaze. The other man smiled for only a moment before it dropped and he stared at him intensely.

"Are you alright?" Hugo asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern. There was something in the air, but Hugo couldn't place it. They were so close together, arms pressed against each other, skin warm and comforting.

His words seemed to knock Stefan out of his stupor. He shook his head as if to empty it of thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," he replied, his voice quiet, and grabbed his bowl. Hugo stared after him in confusion as he headed into the living room, but followed nonetheless.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Stefan flicked on the television and put on a movie to start their little marathon. Hugo knew that neither of them was going to pay attention to the movie and would talk the entire time once they'd finished their food, but it was good to have a little background noise.

They finished eating around the same time and Stefan grabbed his bowl to dump in the sink. As Hugo had expected, he dropped it and left. "Did you want to finish this or start something else? Because I'm not really feeling this tonight," he said as he walked, but Hugo's eyes were still fixed on the unwashed dishes.

Who knew how long the others had been sitting there? His knee jumped up and down as he thought. He needed it to be clean, his parents had trained that into his before the accident and it had only gotten worse since. Sometimes, staying at Renee and Stefan's annoyed him so much. Maybe in return for Stefan teaching him how to cook, he could teach the man how to clean.

"You alright, Hugo?" Stefan asked, a frown on his face. He stepped forward and pressed a hand to his shoulder, but Hugo shook him off and stood from the couch.

He barely spared Stefan a glance as he walked into the kitchen, turning slightly so that he could see him sign. "It annoys me that you don't do the dishes."

Stefan burst out laughing. "Is that all?"

"I need it to be clean."

Stefan's laughter faded away as he picked up a tea towel. "Alright. Dish soap is under the sink," he said. "Are you having a bad day or is this a normal thing?"

"It's a normal thing," Hugo replied, grabbing the dish soap and filling the sink with hot water.

Stefan bumped his shoulder against his. "Good to know," he said. "My place must annoy the crap out of you, huh?"

Hugo nodded, looking around the small apartment. He'd never seen inside Stefan's room, but he could imagine piles of clothes all over the floor, much like the dishes that always crowded the kitchen benches. Even the photo wall was messy, but he was sure it was meant to be. He frowned at it, but couldn't take a closer look without spilling water all over the floor.

"Am I on your photo wall?" he asked. When had Stefan even gotten a photo of him?

"Oh, yeah!" the other man replied, dropping the towel and grabbing a couple of photos from the wall. "I figured you belonged up there, you know?"

Hugo gulped painfully, staring at the photos in Stefan's hands. There was one of him in the back of the car, staring out the window with a frown. Another of him and Renee on the couch, she was looking at the camera, but his eyes were focused on the television. The third took his breath away. It was a photo of him laughing, head tipped back towards the light behind him. He had no idea where he was in the photo, but he'd never seen so much joy on his face before.

"That one is my favourite."

At the words, Hugo's eyes shot up to Stefan's face. A soft smile pulled at the other man's lips, but Hugo didn't know what to do. Anxiety welled within him, screaming at him to run, but there was something else inside him that begged to stay, begged to leaned forward and get it over and done with. He was sick of the waiting, but he was also sick to his stomach.

He turned away before either part of him could make a decision and scrubbed at the bowls they'd used for dinner. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Stefan sigh and place the photos back on the wall. An awful feeling of regret settled in his stomach. He should have gone for it. It was the perfect opportunity. But he hadn't expected the photos and the nervousness and the longing to smile and laugh like that more.

Time passed slowly with a heavy silence that Hugo longed to break. It wasn't fair. He'd come so close only for his stupid mind to scare him off again. Couldn't Stefan just do something? Was it really so hard? He didn't have the same anxiety that Hugo did. He could just do it. Or maybe he did. He had said that he knew what it was like to have panic attacks. Did the idea of asking him out make Stefan feel as nervous as it did for him?

The silence was suffocating. It made the anxious feeling in his stomach worse and worse by the minute. His hands shook in the water and the dishes threatened to slip from his grasp. The air between him and Stefan was cold, and he longed to step closer.

And then, like the morning he woke up and decided to go to the GSA, he thought 'fuck it'. He gently placed the pot he was scrubbing on the bench and dried his hands with the spare tea towel. Stefan eyed him in confusion, but Hugo didn't let it deter him.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

"What?"

He almost didn't say it again, fear taking over him. "Can I kiss you?" For a second, he was sure Stefan would push him away in disgust. He bunched his hands into fists, waiting for rejection.

But Stefan didn't say a word. Hugo startled when their lips pressed together, so gentle that he wasn't even sure it was happening. He closed his eyes and pressed himself closer until his chest was pressed again the dish in Stefan's hands. Space opened up between them when Stefan dumped the dish on the bench and pulled him closer, one hand reaching up to cup Hugo's face.

His lips were warm, soft, everything he'd expected and more. He reached one hand up to cup the back of Stefan's neck, fingers tickling the dark hair. Stefan pulled him closer still until they were pressed chest to chest and wrapped in each other's arms.

Another kiss and another before Hugo pulled away, keeping his hands bunched in Stefan's shirt. He stared up at the look of shock on the other man's face and winced. Maybe he'd gotten it wrong but if that was the case, why had Stefan kissed him in the first place? Even with the worry growing within him, he wanted to do it again.

"I- Hugo- I-" Stefan stuttered, staring down at him with parted lips.

Hugo shifted his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, I thought it was alright. You didn't say-" Stefan grabbed his hands, stopping his rant before it could properly begin. Lips covered his again for only a second, but it was enough to make him smile.

"It's alright," Stefan said, a smile on his face. "I just never thought you'd actually- I never thought I'd actually get to kiss you. I didn't want to put that much pressure on you or cause you any anxiety."

Hugo ripped his hands away. "I've been trying to ask you out for weeks!" he exclaimed.

"You have?"

Hugo nodded furiously. "I asked you to dinner and you invited Renee along, you giant idiot!"

Stefan faltered for a minute, his eyebrows crinkled in thought. "Oh. Oh! I'm such an idiot!" he said, laughing.

"Yes, you are." The pair of them laughed at each other until Stefan grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad this is happening. I'm sorry I didn't realise sooner," he whispered in his ear. There was a beat of silence, lasting for only a few seconds, but in those seconds, Hugo felt more comfortable than he had in a long time. "Can I take you out for dinner? A proper date, no Renee this time. I can come and pick you up from work tomorrow?"

Hugo smiled and leaned up to press another soft kiss to the other man's lips. "I finish at six."