As I'm planning to make this another collection of AU's, this fic will always be marked as 'complete'. Wondering why I have another AU collection? Check the AN after this AU. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

AU #001: Writer!Tadashi; a.k.a, in which Tadashi is grossly uninspired and needs a muse.

(*)

"I'm really sorry, Tadashi," Wasabi winces, rubbing a hand over his chin. "I really want to get this newest book of yours on the next stages, I really do, but something just isn't clicking for me when it comes to the love interest. I think she plays a bit…" he pauses, and chooses an appropriate word for his client. "Safe."

Tadashi Hamada, New York Times Bestselling Author, groans loudly and slams his head onto the desk, nearly upsetting his mug of coffee. "But I don't know what you want me to do! First she was too snarky, then she was too cowardly, then she was too flighty, now she's too safe?" Tadashi looks up at his editor, the bags under his eyes making Wasabi feel even guiltier. "Dude, you're a great editor, an even greater friend, but… Don't you think you're asking too much of me?"

Wasabi tries to smile at his long-time friend. "Tadashi. I've been your editor for what, five years now? I know you can do better than her." He gestures at the pile of papers in between the two of them. "You've written beautiful characters. Complex, frightening, relatable characters. Heck, you made me fall in love with Nyssa from your last book. And you know I rarely ask you to edit your own characters. She doesn't fit perfectly into your book." His eyes soften, understanding how frustrated Tadashi must feel. "Okay? I'll give you two weeks to re-do her. Make her amazing."

Tadashi sighs heavily, and stands up. "I'll do my best," he replies somberly, gathering his papers as he gets ready to leave. He smiles weakly as he makes his way to the door, already having nightmares about sleep-deprived nights.

"Hey."

The author turns around, expecting to see a disappointed look on Wasabi's face, and is mildly surprised to see a smile on Wasabi's face. "What?"

"Dude. I know it's been a rough month for you, so I have three words to tell you. You are magic. You create worlds and people with your mind, breathe them alive with your words. If that's not magic, I don't know what that is. That's something you authors fail to remember at your low points. Keep that in mind. Be a wizard. Make your magic."

(*)

I don't really feel like magic right now… Tadashi thinks to himself as he searches for an empty table at his favorite café. He holds his order, a simple mug of coffee (more sugar than cream) in his right hand. He sighs, and looks at the overwhelmingly crowded café.

Tadashi values silence while writing, but it's different when he's trying to conceptualize an actual story with characters. He enjoys people watching – seeing people in their 'natural habitat', as they went on with their lives, unaware of the inspiration they gave him, and the life they gave to his writing. He loves sitting in busy places and writing ideas in his little red notebook, making notes and stemming from there.

He plans on doing that today, in the busiest café in the city.

That is, if he could actually find a seat.

His eyes finally reach a table in front of a window. The harsh sunlight shines directly on three-fourths of the table, which is most likely the reason why there is only one person currently occupying it. A young woman sits typing in front of her laptop, chewing gum. A plate of assorted, untouched cookies sits near her laptop, and she is apparently not close to taking a break.

Tadashi's not one for sharing tables (the awkward conversation can sometimes be suffocating and distracting) but because he simply has no other choice, he walks over hesitantly to the young woman. "Uhm… hi. Is this seat taken?"

Her fingers pause over her keyboard and she looked up at him, mid-bubblegum chew. Dark eyes appraise him as she cocks an eyebrow up at him. As they lock eyes, something in Tadashi short-circuits, and he blurts out the first words he can think of.

"I won't sit directly across or next to you so that people don't assume we're on a date or anything," he cuts in, thinking that she's going to say no. "And I promise not to bug you, since it looks like you're doing something important like hacking into the FBI database." His ears turn red – he had never been good at talking to women, and this just sealed the deal.

She stares up at him in shock, eyebrows starting to raise higher and higher up her forehead. Tadashi winces; he might as well have just shot himself in the foot. She finally shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "I have half a mind to say no, but… Go wild," she mutters, dramatically gesturing at the seat diagonal from her.

Tadashi quickly takes his seat before she changes her mind, and smiles gratefully to her. "Thanks."

She nods once, her eyes already glued back to her laptop screen. "No problemo."

He decides to get working to avoid any more awkward conversation, so he opens his red notebook, already full of scribbles and notes. Tadashi gets to work, first focusing on the old lady sitting on a park bench directly outside the café. She looks like someone who has a gentle heart, he decides. She looks like someone who would be named Catherine, and go by Cathy. This old woman, who's absentmindedly stroking a cat sitting on her lap, has lost someone close to her and she still thinks about him (or her) every single day. Tadashi writes a full page of what he thinks might have been, and decides that 'Cathy' seems more like a mother-figure to his protagonist, instead of the powerful female lead he needs to write.

Another person catches his eye, and this time, it's the waitress. She flits around her customers with a smile on her face, carrying both hot and cold beverages, and the occasional pastries. Her nametag spells out the name 'Ella' in big, bubbly letters. Tadashi starts writing a paragraph how she seems like someone who works hard to get what she wants, until he realizes that she seems a lot like the latest female protagonist that Wasabi rejected.

He drums his fingers lightly on the tabletop as he tries to think – and he hopes he isn't bothering his hacker for a table mate. His eyes finally land on her, and he can't help but stare at her. She's strong and she's independent, but she has a sweet tooth. The purple streak in her hair is a sign she doesn't give a damn about what people think about her – hell, her whole aura screamed it at him. She is dismissive, but he believes there's a soft spot inside of her that can be unlocked with the right person. He thinks of something else. If 'Ella' would work hard to get what she wants, this young woman sitting diagonally across him, she would fight for it, down to the last tooth and nail. She-

"You've been staring at me for the past seven minutes. You better have a good excuse."

He is startled out of his reverie as her voice cuts smoothly through his daydream, and he can't help but wince. "Seven minutes?"

She closes her laptop, eyes still trained on him, as she spits her gum out into a napkin and immediately reaches for a chocolate chip cookie. "Seven minutes. Give or take."

"I'm sorry-"

"This is going to be an interesting story, I can tell."

For some reason, it doesn't look like she's pissed at him. In fact, if he would take a wild guess at her emotional status right now, he'd say she was amused. Borderlining on annoyed, but amused. He decides to tell her the truth. "I find you intriguing."

Her dark eyes focus on him, and narrow in suspicion. "Haven't heard that line before."

He blushes, and holds up his hands in surrender. "It's not – I'm not –" He sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm an author in a slump, and I'm character-searching." Tadashi waits for her reaction as she thoughtfully chews on her cookie.

"So…" She swallows. "You're suffering from writer's block." She says this as if she's heard it all before, as she raises an eyebrow in confirmation.

"Yes." He takes a long sip of coffee. "You sound like you can relate. Writer?"

She shakes her head. "Web designer. We suffer from designer blocks too, believe it or not." She pushes her plate towards him. "I heard sugar cures all ills."

He smiles briefly at her before taking a cookie. "Wasn't that supposed to be laughter? Thanks. I'm Tadashi, by the way."

"GoGo," she replies shortly, nodding in greeting before she opens her laptop again and starts typing away.

There's a brief silence where he decides to look out the window and go people-watching again, but for some reason, no one stands out to him. Everyone looks simple and plain. Everyone looks like they're not right for his story. He tries, he really does, but he can't get his head into it, and he has no idea why.

Until he notices her again, as she angrily deletes a few lines of code (he assumes), her right ring finger pressing down insistently on the backspace button. She is angry and her rage is as fiery as the sun. She is witty and intelligent, with a temper like a bubbling volcano. But this is because she is compassionate, because she is passionate and would protect people she cared about without a second thought. He writes furiously in his notebook, writing paragraphs of notes and descriptions of an intelligent young woman – a hacker with a heart. She's bad ass and she's harsh but she's so easy to fall in love with-

"I hope you're writing good things about me."

He jumps, as his pencil moves across the page. "Uhm… How… How could you tell?"

She smirks as she continues typing, her hands moving fast across the keyboard. "You started writing like there was no tomorrow after you stared at me – again, if I might add. Look, just don't make me too Mary Sue, okay?"

He laughs, and smiles at her, even though she's not looking at him. "You'll be perfect."

(*)

Merely four days later, Wasabi's eyes race across the paper as he drinks in the new chapters Tadashi's typed up with the new character. "Cat got your tongue?" Tadashi teases, as Wasabi starts grinning like a madman.

"She's amazing!" Wasabi exclaims happily. "I knew you could do it! Didn't I tell you? Didn't I?"

"Okay, okay, you're an amazing editor," Tadashi says with a smile, placating his friend.

"This is like, a complete change from those other characters!" Wasabi excitedly takes a sip of coffee. "You haven't just changed the character; you've changed the entire aura of the story. You. Have. Created. A. Hermione!"

Tadashi smiles at Wasabi. "A Hermione?"

"An intelligent female character that earns the love and respect of the readers over time!" Wasabi recites all too cheerfully. "A brilliant, genius character that the entire book couldn't do without! Well, it'd be different, but Hermiones just add a certain life to a book." Wasabi watches his author friend chuckle, and can't help notice that there's something different about Tadashi. "Hey. Where'd you get the idea for her, anyway?"

"Hm?"

"The idea." Wasabi smiles wryly. "I'm the one who taught you how to people watch for characters, remember?"

"No one in particular," Tadashi says innocently, shoving stray papers into his folder. "Just a girl, passing by. No one special. No one important."

"Right. Well, I won't keep you stuck here when you have so much re-writing to do," Wasabi folds his arms over his chest, a small, knowing smile on his face. "Go. Leave. Do your magic."

"You got it, captain!" Tadashi salutes Wasabi on his way out, simultaneously typing in a text on his phone. Congratulations! You officially pass his standards.

"Hey."

Tadashi looks at Wasabi over his shoulder, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. "Yeah?"

"You better introduce me to her!"

"To who?" He feigns innocence, trying to exit Wasabi's office without getting in/terrogated.

"To Leiko." Wasabi grins, satisfaction welling up in his chest at the blush currently blossoming over his friend's face. "She better not distract you!" he says, only teasing a little bit.

"I can't hide anything from you, can't I?" Tadashi groans, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Fine, fine, when I've got everything down on paper, I'll introduce you." He exits Wasabi's office, hearing his friend burst out into laughter just as he closes the door, and reads the message from GoGo.

I guess you owe me a date, then.

He smiles to himself. Well, he didn't exactly promise Wasabi he wouldn't be distracted.

(*)

But you already have an AU collection! The readers scream at me. Well, I just have sooooo many AU's I want done, and not just the normal 'the events of BH6 never happened' or the 'Tadashi never died' AU's I do normally, aka Plans A-Z, Pancakes and Punches and Seven Days, among others. No, I wanted a place where I could put all those 'out of the ordinary' AU's. AU's like the barista and customer AU (Yours), the wedding planner and bridesmaid AU (Wedding Bells) and the soulmate AU (Orange and Purple).

I have so many ideas for these, so many prompts! So I decided to put them all here. In one collection.

What are your thoughts about this chapter? Trivia: Wasabi's advice for Tadashi is something a friend of mine told me: You are magic. That goes out to everyone out there who's in a slump, writer or not. You are magic.

Feel free to prompt me; I'll try to do them, I promise! Just leave a review and I'll see what I can do.

xx, Sparky