PLANNING:

  Hugo asked Arjan to come over to his house (as his boyfriend) for the first time.

  Arjan has come over hundreds of times but this time is different!

  > > > >

  Hugo paces back and forth, a habit he has no matter what he’s feeling.

  His older sister is sitting in the couch nearby. Sam plans to visit her friend Charlie once Arjan comes over.

  Not looking up from her phone, Sam asks in Spanish [Is this an anxious pace or an I’m-excited pace? Because it looks like an I’m-panicking pace.]

  “Silencio, Sam. This is a big deal. It’s the first time Arjan is coming over as my boyfriend” Hugo’s voice is usually very confident and steady, but it’s clear he’s nervous.

  Sam snickers. [Bro, girl dates are so much easier. We just show up and look pretty and it works from there.]

  Hugo decides not to take advice from his sister on that, since he’s a gay male and Sam’s approach to dating is very different. She’s in the “I’m young and I’m pretty and I’m free for fun because I’m too young to tie myself down” stage of her life.

  Hugo would be too, except Arjan isn’t just some guy he met on a dating app (Unlike Sam’s current Bae).

  Arjan has been Hugo’s best friend for so long, Arj remembers Hugo before he started testosterone.

  The two from almost day one had mutual feelings but there were all these hardships to overcome.

  But now- years later- they’ve overcome fears of commitment and the generic self-loathing in their hearts, so they’re able to truly commit to each other.

  Hugo and Arj are dating in the hope they may choose to marry one day.

  Outside of that- Hugo’s secretly a hopeless romantic and now that he and Arjan are dating, just being “two bros playing video games” won’t cut it for romantic boyfriend bonding time.

  He’s trying to think of what to do that would live up to the ideal of romance he holds in his heart.

  >> Arj is shy- he’s not good with big grand gestures… something small but meaningful would make him happiest… but WHAT is small and meaningful to Arjan? To him, just getting a clear glimpse of the sun is meaningful! <<

  Hugo decides to swallow some pride and ask his sister. “Crazy” or not, Sam’s dated- like- ten people. She knows a thing or two, right?

  “Sam? What should I do to make tonight special?”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Sam answers in English, which she doesn’t usually do around Hugo. “I’d say take him out to dinner, but you’re trying to just hang out here like normal… so I don’t know.”

  Hugo’s about to facepalm at her lack of helpfulness, but then he gets an idea.

  “I should make dinner for him!”

  Sam laughs. “Don’t you already do that everytime he comes over?”

  “Kinda? Arjan’s a picky eater so it’s kinda hard to get him to eat much… normally I just give him breakfast-for-dinner like cereal or toast.”

  Sam looks back down at her phone. [Maybe try making him eat something else.]

  “Uh… from experience, I’ve learned forcing people is just wrong.”

  [Awww… you would have thought that was funny a year ago.]

  “More importantly, I need to think of how to make kid food romantic…”

  Sam immediately puts down her phone. “Ooh! You should let me help! I’m great with this stuff!”

  “Uh…”

  Normally Hugo gets really annoyed when Sam helps him with anything (generally because her breathing air “annoys” him),

  but for Arjan …?

  “No.”

  Hugo abruptly leaves the room and pulls out his phone and opens Pinterest and searches “something to give a picky eater”

  A bunch of options come up like smoothies, pasta, quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, and hotdogs.

  Hugo mutters, “It would have been funnier if it just said >> give them a good smack on the butt so they don’t complain<<”

  Hugo’s looking at PB&J cut into fun shapes when something catches his eye.

  It's a picture of two wine glasses, but they’re filled with Mac & Cheese, and stuck on the top of the cups are Dino-Nuggs (dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets)

  Making mac and cheese would be really easy… and chicken nuggets can be microwaved.

  As luck would have it (because the Diaz-Alvarez is almost comically wealthy) they do have plenty of real-glass stemmed cassins for wine.

  The funny part is the family uses them for basically everything BUT wine. Hugo and Sam grew up drinking chocolate milk out of those!

  Getting adrenaline at the thought of making these dinner glasses for a little sweet dinner with Arjan, Hugo quickly checks the pantry for macaroni…

  And there’s none?

  There’s all these spices and rice bags and canned beans and condiment containers and even 5 different brands of tea bags, but not one box of elbow macaroni in sight.

  Hugo checks the freezer for Dino-Nuggs or at least some chicken nuggets, but again, none!

  There’s all these instant chili bowls and Tamales and breakfast burritos and veggie bags and even the ice trays, but no Dino-Nuggs!

  Wait? Is there even cheese?!

  Hugo checks the fridge and of course there’s four large blocks of four different cheese types.

  Hugo sighs, wishing he had a full drivers license but he just has a class-7 license (in Alberta, Canada, this is the equivalent of a learner’s permit)

  Hugo hates that he has to, but he asks his big sister if she will drive him to the grocery store.

  She exclaims with a teasing sound, “Oh? Did you decide what you're making for your Novio?”

  “You know, saying the word boyfriend in Spanish doesn’t actually make it sound cool.”

  [I know it doesn’t. It makes me sound sexy~] Sam turns her head up proudly.

  Hugo resists the urge to try walking all ten miles to the grocery store himself. “Uh-huh. Sure. Let’s go.”

  Sam spreads herself over the couch dramatically. “Wait, I’m not readyyyy ~ if I’m going outside I have to at least look presentable.”

  Lacking patience for that, Hugo says, “You’re not naked and you don’t have food on your clothes. You’re presentable.”

  This makes Sam genuinely laugh.

  It was just such a quick response.

  Because she secretly appreciates Hugo’s sass and just generally has a lot of adoration for her widdle diddle baby brother (who isn’t actually a baby anymore but whatever) …

  … Sam gets off the couch and stands up straight. “Okay, fineeeee.”

  He huffs, “Thank you.”

  Sam sneers, [But know I’m gonna tell you all the reasons your criteria are wrong on the way there. Are you driving or am I?]

  “I’ll drive.”