Athena had been right - her parents really didn't mind Dyo coming to stay. Once she'd convinced them that lectures had been cancelled for the day, they were too excited about the prospect of seeing her to care about anything else. Athena felt a pang of guilt when she ended the call; she needed to make more of an effort.
But the assurance that he was welcome didn't help Dyo to feel any more relaxed.
"Are you okay?" Athena asked him for what must have been the tenth time since they'd boarded the train.
"Yes. Of course. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you're talking like a robot and you won't stop fidgeting!"
"Sorry," he said, meaning it. "I'm not good with family stuff." His own experience of family was... dysfunctional, to say the least, and he wasn't sure what to expect when they reached Hastings.
"Well stop panicking. They were so excited when I told them on the phone and they love having guests to stay - Hastings is a bit boring compared to New London, to be honest, so please don't get your hopes up for an exciting weekend. But you definitely don't need to worry about my parents because they are going to love you!" Athena froze as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to say 'love'. Love was a bit intense. She could feel her cheeks beginning to colour and tried to hide her blush by looking out of the window at the countryside rushing past. She could only hope that Dyo would pass it off as a figure of speech.
When, a few minutes later, he still hadn't said anything in reply, Athena risked a glance over at him. But instead of panicking over her choice of words, his eyes were closed and his breathing regular. He slept for the rest of the journey.
***
Waiting in the doorway of the house were a middle-aged couple. The woman had Athena's hair, while the man had the same grey eyes. Both were wearing pink tops which Athena noticed still had that 'just left the shop' smell when she hugged them.
"Mum and Dad, this is Dyo. Dyo, these are my parents."
"It's lovely to meet you, Dyo," Athena's mother said, smiling.
"Thank you for having me." Dyo was uncomfortable. He wasn't used to parents. Especially not nice ones.
As he led them through into the front room, Athena's father asked, "So you're studying at NLUP too?"
"Yes, I'm in my first year, like Athena," Dyo replied, glossing over the lack of actual studying he'd done so far.
Athena laughed as she hung her coat in the hallway.
"Oh," Athena's mother exclaimed as Athena entered the room seconds later. "Has the pop colour changed, honey? You didn't tell us." Now that Athena had taken her coat off, her mother was looking at her with a puzzled expression. In faded jeans and a green hoodie which belonged to Dyo, Athena wasn't wearing a single item in pink. She wasn't even sure when she'd last done so. Instead, it was her parents, who never bothered with pop trends, were wearing the latest colour. If pink still was the latest colour. Shouldn't there have been another vote by now?
Her parents must have been trying to make a good impression. Athena smiled at them fondly, loving their commitment to making her happy. She wasn't sure it would be prudent to tell them quite what she'd been doing since she'd last seen them, but she didn't know how to explain her sudden aversion to pink either.
Luckily, Dyo stepped in for her. "There was a new pop vote last week. It's now 'wear cold colours'. Blue, greens, purples... Anything goes really, so long as it's not too summery."
Athena's mother laughed. "These trends are impossible to keep up with! I quite like that one though, you look lovely in greens and purples, darling."
Athena squirmed under the compliment, which made Dyo smile.
"So, Dyo, did you and Athena meet during lectures?"
"Actually no, I met Athena on the day that the healthcare vote was supposed to be announced. She, quite literally, swept me off my feet." He smiled.
***
It was strange to be back in her childhood bedroom, with Dyo only a few metres away in the guest room next door. He would be laying down now, in the bed usually reserved for visiting relatives, processing the events of that afternoon. Athena's parents had been on their best behaviour, mercifully, so Dyo didn't have an embarrassing stories to amuse himself with. So far, the visit was proving to be a success.
Athena closed her eyes, smiling happily, when there was a soft knock at the door.
"Hello?" she whispered.
"It's me. Can I come in?"
Athena panicked at the sound of Dyo's voice. Having him next door was one thing, but here, in her room, which still contained cuddly toys and pictures of her as a young child...
"Erm, hang on," she said, jumping out of the bed and throwing the few teddies she still had underneath it. The photos on the chest of drawers were thrown into the top draw which was still full of mismatched socks, but there was nothing she could do about the ones on the wall. She sighed, gave the room a quick glance over and opened the door.
"Nice pyjamas," he said with a smirk as he leant in the doorway. What she was wearing hadn't even crossed Athena's mind. She'd been so concerned about the room, which Dyo was now appraising as he walked towards her bed (her bed!) and sat down, swinging his legs up and leaning against the headboard as though he belonged there. Athena could feel her cheeks colouring and was pleased that it was probably too dark for him to notice.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, deciding to ignore the pyjama comment. "Is the guest room not comfy enough?"
He pulled a face. "It was fine. Just a little bit lonely..."
"Dyo!" He reached towards her, pulling her onto the bed. They barely both fit on it, and she had to lay on her side to avoid being on top of him. "My parents are only down the hall. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."
"Comfortable with what? We're only laying here, aren't we? Or were you suggesting something else?" His voice was a low purr, soft and seductive as he trailed his fingers along her thigh, brushing the soft cotton of her pyjama bottoms.
"No!" she answered, too quickly to sound convincing, but Dyo only laughed. He pulled her towards him so that her head was resting on his chest, his hand still moving in lazy motions across her skin.
"Relax, Athena. I only came in to talk. My motives are pure, I promise."
Dyo was as pure as Leighton was honest, but it was warm, lying beside him, and his chest was proving more comfortable to lay her head on than her pillows. She could feel the steady rhythm of his heart beneath her, at odds with the skittish beat of her own in response to his touch.
"What did you want to talk about?" she said, snuggling closer to him and stifling a yawn.
"Your parents are nice."
Athena grinned. "You came into my room in the middle of the night to talk about my parents? Something tells me you have got this backwards..."
He laughed again and kissed the top of her head gently. "This is all quite novel to me."
"Meeting a girl's parents?"
"Well, yes, that too, but I meant nice parents in general, really. They truly care about you."
"They are pretty ordinary as far as parents go."
"Not from my experience."
"Come on, your parents can't be that bad. What are they like?" she asked softly. Maybe here, in the comforting darkness of her room, she could get him to open up.
"My mum died when I was four, so I can't really remember her all that well. She might have been more like your parents though - I have this vague memory of vanilla perfume and being read to as a child."
"What happened to her?"
Dyo exhaled deeply. "I don't know. I can't remember anything and my dad won't talk about her."
"Oh." Athena was quiet for a moment. Sometimes her parents could be overly protective, but she loved knowing that they were always there for her. She couldn't imagine being without them.
"What's your dad like?"
"I'd rather not talk about him."
"Come on, he can't be as bad as you think. Maybe now that you've met my parents, you could introduce me to him at some point?"
"No. Never," he said bluntly. "Sorry, what I mean is: I would never put you through that. Trust me, it would be horrific for all involved. What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked, leaving no room for further discussion.
"I'm going to take you to see my dad's shop," Athena replied, dropping the subject and leaning so that she could see his face.
"That sounds lovely. Thank you." He kissed her lightly on the lips, drawing her in towards him.
It was considerably later when they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.
{Posting this from the app, so I'm really hoping it works (I haven't had the best success uploading from my phone before!) Please vote/comment if you enjoyed it - or even just to show me in my notifications that it's actually published and readable! According to the screen I was just on, two chapters of DoD - we're only saved as drafts instead of being properly published?! Apologies if this is the case and the story has been making no sense as a result! Hopefully I've fixed it now.}