Road To Happiness ✔

TWENTY-NINE

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.