You kick Jay's foot under the table. "Stop fidgeting," you whisper. "They're not gonna beat you up or anything."

"I know, but they're glaring at me and it's making me nervous!" Jay replies, nodding toward o/b and y/b. "I just want to make a good impression. I mean, they are your brothers, so they're practically gonna be my family too, and, I mean—wait, please tell me I didn't say that out loud—I did, didn't I? Argh—look, they already don't like me because I totally screwed up that one time, I don't want to make it worse!"

"You're not going to make it worse, Jay. Just relax and be yourself. I think you guys will get along fine."

"Easy for you to say," Jay whimpers as o/b and y/b look up from their menus.

He's given a reprieve by the waitress, who takes everyone's orders and then leaves Jay to suffer in awkward, agonizing silence.

Jay gives your brothers a deer-in-headlights look before fixing his eyes on the wall across from him and muttering, "Y/n, help."

"So, uh, o/b," you begin nervously. "What have you been working on lately?"

O/b immediately launches into the gripping tale of how he successfully balanced playing college football with getting a degree in mechanical engineering. Jay still seems terrified, until o/b mentions a project he's working on.

"Hang on, did you say you needed a compact jiggly compress converter?" he asks excitedly. "My parents have one of those lying around at their junkyard!"

"Really?" o/b asks. "Do you think I could have it?"

Jay nods eagerly. "Sure! Drop by anytime. They've got tons of spare parts lying around. Oh, and you could take a look at this giant mechanical ninja my dad built out of scrap. Maybe it could give you some ideas for your next project! And then you have got to check out..."

You look at y/b, who looks vaguely pained, and shrug. "There he goes."

Jay's discussion with o/b about mechanics and inventions and who knows what else lasts all the way through dinner and finally peters out just as the waitress comes by with the bill. Jay offers to take it, which seems to please both of your brothers, and reaches for his pocket. He freezes, then checks his other pocket, then the first one again. Then he glances at your brothers, who are starting to look confused.

You stare at Jay quizzically while he looks progressively more panicked. "Jay? What's wrong?"

Jay slides down in his chair, looking like he wants to disappear, and glances at o/b and y/b. "Uh, listen, y/n, I have a really, really important question to ask."

"Yes?" you ask, leaning forward expectantly.

"Well, um—gosh, this is embarrassing—"

"Yeeeeeeeeees?"

"C-can you pay the bill? I sort of forgot my wallet at home."

You laugh. You laugh so hard you cry. That's not what you were expecting at all. "That was so funny, I would have paid the bill even if you hadn't forgotten your wallet."

O/b and y/b share a look. "I can't believe you're dating this guy," y/b says.

You wipe a few tears from your eyes and pull some money out of your wallet to pay the bill. "I can."