Ryan asked Claire all the classic questions earlier—where she was from, what she studied, what her future plans were. He asked about her family, her reason for attending school in Copenhagen, even her opinion on Scandinavian politics.
Claire answered each one with a steady voice, but underneath, she felt like she was walking a tightrope.
Daniel sat between them, trying to smooth the edges. "She's smarter than me, if that's what you're trying to figure out."
"Clearly," Ryan said, deadpan.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Was that a compliment?"
"It was," Daniel whispered, as if he were decoding ancient hieroglyphs. "In Ryan-speak."
Sometime, later in the evening.
"Did you survive the sibling interrogation?" Daniel asked with a smirk, nudging her shoulder.
"Barely," Claire grinned. "Your brother is intense. But kind, in a weird, stone-faced way."
Daniel laughed. "That's the most accurate description I've ever heard. Ryan's the watchdog of the family. But you impressed him. And Amalie thinks you're 'lovely and balanced.' Her words."
Emma smirked. "Balanced? That sounds like I'm a salad."
Daniel threw his head back laughing. "A very classy salad."
When the night ended, and Claire and Daniel were finally done, and he was walking her back toward her dorm, he looked at her and said, "Thanks for surviving Ryan."
"He's not so bad," she said. "Like a quiet puzzle."
Daniel laughed. "Exactly."
They stopped at her front steps. The street was empty, the wind brushing against her coat.
"He likes you," Daniel said. "He won't say it. But I know."
Claire smiled. "Good. Because I like you. And I want to know the people who matter to you."
He pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers.
"You already do."
That night, Daniel asked of his brother's opinion on Claire.
"You like her?" Daniel asked, trying to keep his tone light.
Ryan shrugged. "She's intelligent. Calm. Doesn't fawn over you."
Daniel smirked. "You say that like it's rare."
"It is," Ryan said, pausing. "But yeah. I like her. She's grounded. Just be smart about it."
Daniel frowned. "What does that mean?"
Ryan looked at his younger brother. "You're impulsive, Dani. You go all in, then burn out. Don't do that with her. She's not someone you can just forget."
Daniel's chest tightened. "I don't plan to."
Meanwhile, Claire and Amalie had exchanged contact information earlier and started gossiping about the brothers over the phone.
"He doesn't bring people home often," Amalie said softly. "Ryan, I mean. But Daniel either. You're the first person I've seen make him... settled."
Claire glanced back at Daniel, who was laughing at something Ryan said on his phone. "I'm not sure where it's all going yet. But it feels real."
Amalie smiled. "Then that's enough for now."
---
As they reached a quiet bench near the metro, Daniel glanced at her, thoughtful. "I actually haven't told you much about my little sister, have I?"
"No," Claire said. "You've mentioned her once or twice. I assumed she was a baby."
"Ha, no. Elina's nineteen now. She's studying in the UK. Leeds, actually."
Claire blinked. "Seriously? That's like two hours from where I used to live."
Daniel smiled. "Small world. She's always wanted to leave Sweden, be independent. She's the baby, but she acts like the oldest sometimes—fierce, confident. A bit like you."
Claire tilted her head. "Do I get to meet her?"
"Eventually, yeah. You two would get along too well, I think. She'd probably start texting you instead of me."
Claire chuckled. "If she's anything like you, I'm guessing she also uses way too many GIFs?"
"Excuse you," Daniel said, mock-offended. "That's part of my charm."
---
The next morning, Claire woke up to a message on her phone—an Instagram DM request from someone named elina.lars.
> "Hi! I heard you're dating my idiot brother 😅 I'm Elina. Just wanted to say hi since you're in Copenhagen and I'm stuck in freezing Yorkshire. Also, he NEVER talks about girls like this, so… hi 👀"
Claire grinned, heart warming.
She messaged back:
> "Hi Elina! Very honored to meet the real boss of the family. Daniel speaks highly of you. Also, I'd love to FaceTime sometime if you're up for it. We can compare weather disasters."
Elina replied almost instantly with a string of emojis and a proposed time.
That night, Claire and Daniel sat together on his bed, huddled over his laptop as Elina's bubbly face popped up on screen. She had Daniel's eyes but a sharper wit—and zero filter.
"So you're the reason he hasn't been annoying me constantly," Elina said, sipping from a massive mug. "Bless you."
"Happy to take the job," Claire said, laughing.
They talked for nearly an hour, jumping between school, annoying professors, Elina's dream of traveling across Asia, and her favorite spots in the UK. Claire gave her a list of bookstores and coffee shops near Leeds that she had loved.
"You guys are literally the same person," Daniel muttered at one point, pretending to sulk. "I feel ganged up on."
"You are ganged up on," Elina said, grinning. "About time someone else joined the team."
Before the call ended, Elina looked at Claire and said, softer, "Thanks for making him smile like that. He needed someone steady."
Claire blinked, surprised by the quiet sincerity.
Daniel looked like he might say something but didn't.
After the call, he lay back on the bed, arms folded behind his head.
"She likes you," he said.
Claire smiled, curling beside him. "I like her too. She's sharp. Brave. And she clearly loves you a lot."
"She does," he said. "And I'm glad she knows about you now."
Claire rested her head on his chest. "Me too."
The city outside was quiet, their breaths slow and synced. It was moments like this—not fireworks or candlelit dinners—that made it all feel real.
Families. Fears. Arguments. Laughter. Introductions.