My oh my, my sister's husband? (mxm/bxb) *Under proofreading*

Chapter one - Day one (Tuesday, October 18th, 2016)

"Well, don't I just look.. like a stoic businessman", I mumble and let a frustrated groan escape my lips. I really don't understand why I have to dress up. 'I mean – sure, I'm going to meet my sister's husband for the very first time but why on Earth do I have to dress up for it? Shouldn't I instead show him that his new brother-in-law's laid back and that we all welcome him in to our family? That's what I told Mum yesterday anyways when she called to tell me that *I* was suddenly going to host the combined 'welcome home and welcome to the family'-party. But her only answer to my unhappiness was, that I have to look presentable and not like the loner I, apparently, normally look like. So here I am, trying to look less like me and more like some outgoing college guy', I think sourly. 'Not to sound like I'm totally self-absorbed and such but it really is my luck that my childhood home gets water damage just a few days before Lily and her husband come back from South Africa. What makes it worse is that they have to live with me in my tiny one bedroom apartment until my parents' house gets fixed'. I let yet another frustrated groan leave me but this time, as I do so, I let myself fall back onto the couch and I throw my left arm over my eyes in distress. "Why am I so damn unlucky?", I mumble to myself. I'm just about enter a very dark place in my mind but I quickly jump from the couch instead, "No! No time dwelling in the past! I'm over and done with that. And I still have to vacuum all over the place, put clean linen on the bed and pick up Mum and Dad so we can get started on dinner!"

An hour and a half later, I've vacuumed the entire apartment, changed the bed linen to my favourite blue ones, switched my black t-shirt out with a dark grey button-up, picked up my parents and am now seated by the dining table, watching my parents make dinner. The doorbell goes off but before I even have the chance to leave from my chair, Mum's already at the door for our long-awaited guests. Two very girly shrieks break the anticipating silence when, I'm strongly guessing, my sister and Mum see each other. I make eye contact with Dad and both he and I roll our eyes. I hear my mother introduce herself to whom I assume is my sister's husband but I don't get to hear his answer when Dad decides to shout, "Don't just stand out there! Get in here so we can see the infamous husband of yours, Lillian!" he winks at me with a playful grin at the end of his sentence. I hear footsteps behind me and I turn around in my chair, ready to stand up. Mum walks through the hallway door first, followed closely behind by my beautiful older sister, whom automatically makes a million watt smile appear on my face. First then do I notice a very shy-looking yet very, very handsome man standing behind my sister. My heart skips a beat, 'Damn nerves', I think as I stand up but my attention's soon back on my sister when I get crushed in a hug by the ten centimetres shorter woman. "God, I really missed you, baby-bro!", she laughs, making me groan while trying to get my arms freed from the bone breaking hug so I can hug her back, "I'm literally like ten centimetres taller than you, Lily. You can't keep calling me 'baby-bro', you know". I look over her shoulder to see my brother-in-law looking at us with the most content smile on his face. 'Gosh, he really must love her; it just radiates from his eyes'.

After a few seconds, Lily finally lets go with a loud curse and turns to her husband, "I almost forgot you haven't actually been introduced before! I talk so much about you all that I sometimes forget you've never actually met. Michael, this is my - husband Dragos. Dragos, this is Michael". 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say she made a marginal pause before saying the word 'husband'.. but it's probably just my imagination'. I put my hand out for Dragos to take and plaster on the biggest smile I can muster in front of such a handsome man, "Hi. Welcome to the family. Like Lily said, my name's Michael but family normally calls me Mike". Dragos takes my hand in his bigger one and gives a hesitant shake while he says with a noticeably nervous tremble in his voice, "Thank you so much. And it's really nice to meet you, Mikale. (a/n The Danish way to say Michael is "Mi-kal" with a deep 'i' and a hard 'k'. That's why Dragos' pronunciation might be strange as it isn't even near the English way to say Michael).And my name's Dragos but please call me Derek", he ends with a soft chuckle. As our hands separate, I realize he must really be nervous about meeting us because his hand's all clammy from sweat. Dad breaks us out of our little staring contest shortly after our introduction when he says, "Welcome to Denmark Derek. I hope it wasn't too difficult to get in to the country. I hear it isn't always easy even when you're married!". Derek takes two quick steps towards Dad's outstretched hand and pumps it up and down almost aggressively, "No, sir. It wasn't difficult at all. I expected it to be a lot harder actually. And I really must thank you in person – I really do appreciate you agreeing to let your daughter do this. I am forever in your debt, sir". Everything's rushed out of Derek's mouth but Dad just chuckles and answers calmly, "Of course, Derek. This is a very important issue to us; I believe Lillian already explained this to you", he makes a short pause and glances my way before he continues, "and I guess you know by now that, when Lillian puts her mind to something, she goes through with it no matter what!". Dad sends a proud smile Lily's way and breaks the handshake; all the while, Derek looks like he could just die from embarrassment, 'or is it shame?'. 'I feel like I'm missing something very, very important. It's like there's a hidden meaning behind Dad's and Derek's exchange!'.

Dad and Derek settle in my living room while Mum finishes making dinner. Lily and I sit by the dining table and I ask her in a hushed voice, "Hey Lily.. Hvad mente far med- *smack*"("What did Dad mean with-"), I get ever so rudely interrupted by Mum smacking me in the back of my head while she sends me a deathly glare and says with a stern voice, "No Danish when Derek's around! At least until he understands partly Danish! Now set the table". I groan like I'm a thirteen-year-old still living with my parents and not the twenty-two-year-old getting visited by my parents in my own apartment that I am.

Forgotten are all the questions for my sister.

The evening trickles by without any big incidents and all too soon, Mum and Dad need a ride home. As they go to the hallway, I face Lily and Derek, "Why don't you guys just go to bed while I drive Mum and Dad home? You must be tired from the long flight!" I suggest just as the front door opens and closes with a silent thump. "I put fresh linen on the bed this morning but please, no humpy-bumpy in my new bed. I'd really like to be the first one to have sex in it", I joke. Derek instantly goes beet red and looks at about anything but me while Lily scrunches her brows together and says seriously, "Are you for real, Mike? It's been more than a year since you broke up with-", "Wowowowow, let me stop you right there!", I interrupt Lily with my arms waving awkwardly in the air before she says something stupid in front of Derek, whom, by the way, now looks more curious than embarrassed. Now it's my turn to flush red and I turn around to practically run out of my own home with a loud, "G'night", over my shoulder.

Forty-five minutes later, I lock myself into my apartment as silently as human possible. I kick my shoes off and walk into the living room and that's when I realize, I've forgotten all about a pillow and a duvet for me to sleep with on the couch tonight. I groan silently, lightly hit myself on the forehead and start on the short distance to my bedroom door. I hold my breath, like that's going to help me not awaken my sister and her husband, as I open the door just enough for me to be able to slip through. I take a quick glance at Lily's and Derek's sleeping forms in my big, fluffy bed before I slip through the door opening. I tiptoe the few steps to my closet at the end of the bed and with my back turned to their bodies, I slowly open the doors. The doors are halfway open when the hinges decide to screech like a woman getting stabbed so I quickly pause, close my eyes and hold my breath to try and listen for the soft snores behind me. But all I hear is the adrenalin pumping in my ears so I instead wait for any sounds indicating that one of them woke up. I stay like that for about ten second, only able to hold my breath for seven though, until I'm sure they aren't awake and I pull the doors the rest of the way open with one quick pull. I quickly grab a pillow and a duvet, close the doors again and turn around to make sure they really didn't awaken, my heart hammering in my ribcage like it's trying to break free. But my brows knit subconsciously when I see their sleeping positions, 'Huh. That's strange; Lily and Derek lie as far away from each other as possible. Well, it's really none of my business how they sleep anyways'. I tiptoe out of the bedroom and let much needed air into the bottom of my lungs the second the bedroom door's safely closed behind me. I let myself fall into the couch and I lean my head back on the headrest while I rub my hands all over my face and hair. 'Gosh, what a long day'.