A/N
Alright so this is kind of a prequal to my other Fredashi fic 'Little Wonders' it's more what I picture as how Fred and Tadashi got together. The song that plays later is watch?v=yY32UjQwRlA if you're interested in listening to it. Anyways enjoy!
Fred's heart was pounding madly in his chest as he stood outside Tadashi's classroom clutching a bouquet of flowers. Fred had P.E. while Tadashi was in Chemistry so Fred was able to book it over to Tadashi's class before he got out once he was released from his class. For the past few weeks Fred had been struggling with the realization that he had a major crush on Tadashi. He knew he was gay and had dated guys before, but as far as he knew Tadashi was straight. However, he'd noticed Tadashi would start blushing when Fred looked at him sometimes and seemed to be getting embarrassed easily. He hoped it meant that maybe Tadashi liked Fred back and had finally worked up the courage to ask him to Prom.
Fred had never felt so nervous about asking someone out before. Maybe it was a sign that he liked Tadashi a lot more than anyone he'd dated before. Or it was his gut telling him that this was a terrible idea and that he should book it before the bell rang and ditch the flowers and pretend like he wasn't majorly crushing on his best friend. Fred wasn't sure he could keep pretending he was content with being Tadashi's friend. It felt wrong to lie to Tadashi about how he felt.
But what if Tadashi didn't feel the same and got weirded out and didn't want to be Fred's friend anymore? Sure he didn't act different when he found out Fred was gay but that was because he didn't think Fred liked him. This could change everything permanently. Before Fred could psych himself out the bell rang and students where flooding the hallway. When Tadashi spotted Fred he walked over asking,
"Hey you asking someone to Prom?"
Fred swallowed nervously and stammered, "Y-y-yea…"
"Who?" Tadashi innocently asked. Fred could avoid all the awkwardness that came with rejection right now if he just made up some random name and later say they said no. He couldn't do that though, he'd beat himself up if he didn't just do this.
"Y-You…" Fred sheepishly admitted.
Tadashi looked stunned by Fred's words and stammered, "M-me?"
"Yea…wanna go to Prom with me?" Fred asked, feeling nauseous. This was a horrible idea; he probably ruined their amazing friendship.
"As friends?" Tadashi asked, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Fred could say yes, just as friends and save himself from a lot of embarrassment. It would be so much easier to do that then take this step into unknown territory, but he couldn't.
"No…like a-a date…" Fred admitted, slowly raising the flowers up. Flowers? What was he thinking? Even if he'd been interested what would he think about Fred getting him flowers? This was a train wreck. Tadashi stared at Fred in shock making Fred wish he hadn't done this. This was stupid, probably the stupidest thing he'd ever done. "L-look if um…we can just pretend this didn't happen an-" Fred began, face turning bright red as he slowly backed away lowering the flowers. Fred wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to look Tadashi in the eye again-
"No!" Tadashi exclaimed, grabbing Fred's arm. "Wait I…sorry I was just…Yes."
"Yes?" Fred asked, trying not to sound hopeful.
"I would love to go to Prom with you." Tadashi clarified taking the flowers.
"You sure?" Fred asked, hope swelling in his chest. Tadashi liked him?
Tadashi clutched the flowers to his chest saying, "Yea, definitely."
Fred nearly passed out from joy. Tadashi said yes! "Awesome!" Fred said, a wide grin spreading across his face. Tadashi grinned back at him and they found themselves simply grinned at each other unable to find any words to say, Tadashi's hand sliding down to loosely hold onto Fred's. The two minute bell rang startling them out of the trance they had been in and they threw hasty goodbye's at each other before racing to class.
When lunch came around Fred was the first to get to their usual spot followed soon by Wasabi and then Gogo and Honey Lemon hand in hand. The site of them gave Fred a little bit of hope for himself and Tadashi, if they could go from friends to dating with ease so could he and Tadashi. Right?
Tadashi walked over proudly carrying the bouquet Fred had given him and sat down next to Fred. When Honey Lemon noticed the flowers she excitedly asked,
"Oh! Who are you asking to prom?"
Tadashi smiled at her and said, "I'm not asking anyone. I was asked."
"Who are you going with?" Honey Lemon excitedly asked.
"Um…" Tadashi glanced over at Fred and they both started blushing making Honey Lemon squeal in excitement.
"Oh my gosh guys I'm so excited for you!" She exclaimed running over to hug them both.
"No!" Wasabi groaned startling everyone.
"What?" Tadashi asked looking terrified.
"I'm going to be a fifth wheel now aren't I?" Wasabi groaned. Tadashi nervously laughed and mumbled,
"Sorry man…"
"It's okay…" Wasabi sighed. "I'm happy for you guys."
"We're not exactly dating…" Fred informed him. Wasabi just shrugged and went back to eating. Tadashi laced his fingers with Fred and gave them a gentle squeeze. Fred spent the rest of the day on cloud nine.
The next morning Tadashi walked over to their usual meeting spot slumped over and looking miserable. Tadashi let his backpack drop to the ground with a thud and collapsed next to Fred, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.
"Everything okay Tadashi?" Fred worriedly asked. Tadashi gave a halfhearted shrug and mumbled,
"The flowers you gave me? My mom took them; she thought they were for her. And I tried to tell her that I got asked to prom but she didn't listen…" Fred was surprised by how dejected Tadashi looked, maybe he was more into this then Fred realized.
"I'm sorry that happened," Fred said, placing a comforting hand on Tadashi's shoulder. "But…maybe it's for the best? I mean...this is kind of like a first date for us…."
"That's true…" Tadashi agreed. "Besides my parents don't seem very um….accepting of non-straight people right now…"
"If anyone can change their minds it's you," Fred assured. Tadashi flashed Fred a weak smile and mumbled,
"Thanks."
Giving Tadashi's shoulder a squeeze Fred assured, "Anytime."
"Enough of this sad stuff, let's talk prom!" Honey Lemon declared after a minute of silence causing the group to erupt into a loud debate on how Prom night should go. Tadashi didn't try to move away from Fred's embrace so he held him until they needed to go to class.
The night of prom came far quicker then Fred would have liked. A part of him was ecstatic to be going with Tadashi, another was afraid this would be the night where everything fell apart. What if Tadashi decided he was straight and they couldn't go back to being friends? What if this night ended their friendship for good?
As they drove to Tadashi's house Fred nervously bounced his knee, clutching the box holding a Boutineer he was going to give Tadashi. What if Tadashi thought it was weird Fred bought one for him? Or what if he already had one for himself? Was this too couply to do for their first date? At the time it seemed wrong not to get one but Fred was afraid getting it might have been the mistake.
"You okay Fred?" Wasabi asked from the other side of the limo. Though Fred's family technically owned a limo no one knew that so he silently shelled out his portion of the cost so they could rent out a limo.
"I'm a little nervous…" Fred admitted.
"Why? You two are best friends," Gogo asked.
"Things have gotten a little awkward since I asked Tadashi to prom," Fred explained.
"Why?" Gogo asked, "You don't stop being friends when you get into a fight or disagree, why should dating make that different?"
"Gogo's right!" Honey Lemon agreed.
"You two didn't have any trouble when you started dating," Fred argued. "What if this awkwardness is a sign we shouldn't date?"
"You think we didn't have any trouble?" Gogo asked incredulously.
"My dad always said that if the person you're dating isn't nervous then they don't care about the relationship so you both being so nervous shows you both want the relationship to work!"
"I never thought of it that way…" Fred mumbled.
"Relax and woman up," Gogo declared. "You two really like each other so you just need to stop worrying about everything and have fun." Fred nervously grinned at her as they pulled up to Tadashi's house. Fred got out of the car and walked up to the front door, raising his fist to knock on the door, his fist freezing just before it hit the door. Butterflies danced in Fred's stomach and he felt like he was going to pass out. He didn't need to be nervous; this was just Tadashi, his best friend since middle school. Fred took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking on the door, Tadashi almost instantly answering.
"Het Fred!" He looked great. He was wearing a nice suit with a red tie and his hair looked perfect as usual. Fred wanted to run his fingers through Tadashi's hair but refrained. That would definitely be weird.
"Hey," Fred said with an awkward wave. "I uh…I got you this…" Fred sheepishly said holding out the boutonniere for Tadashi to see.
"Oh wow thanks," Tadashi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I didn't even think to get you one…"
"Nah it's all good man," Fred assured opening the box. "I uh bought myself one so they'd be matching. I wanted to surprise you."
"Thanks it's great," Tadashi said as Fred lifted the boutonniere out of the box saying,
"May I?"
"Yea thanks," Tadashi replied. Grinning Fred carefully pinned it onto Tadashi's chest.
"Their! Now people will know we're together…sort of," Fred awkwardly declared a light blush on his cheeks.
"Good," Tadashi said making Fred's blush deepen. "Shall we get in the limo?"
"Oh right yea!" Fred stammered, slightly embarrassed. Fred walked Tadashi to the limo and before the limo driver would open the door Fred said, "It's all good I got this." He looked at Fred curiously but nodded his head and got back into the front seat. Smiling Fred opened the door and gestured for Tadashi to get in before him.
The pair got settled in the car and then they were off. According to the driver it would take a little over an hour to get to where the dance was. Apparently they were going to a fancy hotel that had a ballroom that overlooked the ocean.
"Anyone else glad the prom committee changed the location from whatever baseball stadium we were going to have the dance at?" Tadashi asked.
"Yes!" Fred exclaimed, happy to have some sort of distraction from the butterflies in his stomach. "What were they thinking?"
"I was half hoping if we still went there it would rain," Tadashi admitted.
"Tadashi I'm surprised!" Fred gasped, placing a hand over his heart. "How could you be so cruel?"
Tadashi shrugged and said, "Hey sometimes experience is the best teacher." Fred burst out laughing, feeling his nervousness melt away. They were still friends, dating didn't change that.
"You could have built a weather machine if it didn't look like rain and we were still outside," Fred informed him.
"Nah, no one should have that kind of power," Tadashi dismissively said.
"Not to mention that tech would be impossible to make," Wasabi added.
"When Hiro's older I'm sure he'd figure it out," Tadashi argued.
"How can you tell, isn't he like three?" Gogo asked.
"Yea but this morning he came in and showed me a robot he built," Tadashi said.
"He built a robot?" Gogo asked, amazed.
"Yea he's a natural!" Tadashi said.
"The nerd runs strong in your family…" Fred said in a deep voice.
"I'd say more smarts run in the family," Tadashi corrected.
"Same thing," Fred cheekily said.
"No not really," Tadashi informed him, grinning.
"Well I say they are!" Fred declared.
"Oh well if you say so then it must be true," Tadashi deadpanned.
"Exactly!" Fred exclaimed smirking. The rest of the drive to Prom was spent talking and goofing around like they usually did making Fred start to wonder if this was becoming less of a date and more of just friends hanging out.
When they arrived at the dance Honey Lemon and Gogo walked off with their arms linked and Wasabi found some of his classmates and ran off to talk to them leaving Fred and Tadashi alone. Fred glanced over at where the DJ was, and saw most of the students dancing….or bouncing in this case.
"Hey um want to dance?" Fred asked gesturing to the group of students.
"I think you mean bounce," Tadashi corrected, laughing.
"You know if all anyone does is bounce they should just bring some trampolines in." Fred said.
"That would make dances so much more fun!" Tadashi exclaimed. "And dangerous …okay maybe not…"
"Eh survival of the fittest," Fred said, dismissively waving his hand.
"Fred!" Tadashi exclaimed.
"Come on let's dance!" Fred declared grabbing Tadashi's hand and dragging him over to 'dance'. It was surprisingly more fun than it looked; of course if you had a gorgeous guy beside you that you could accidentally bump into how could it not be fun. After several songs, Tadashi grabbed his hand and led him over to one of the tables set up and sat down saying,
"Sorry was getting a little tired."
"No problemo," Fred assured, sitting down. "I could use a break from bouncing. It's so much less fun without a trampoline."
"This again?" Tadashi asked with a laugh.
"Come on imagine the fun!"
"Imagine the lawsuits."
"Spoil sport," Fred grumbled sticking his tongue out at Tadashi. Tadashi grinned and laughed at Fred's antics, playfully elbowing him before leaning against Fred making his heart start pounding in his chest.
Throughout the night it seemed they were just a couple of friends hanging out but this….this reminded Fred they were here on a date. Fred tentatively wrapped his arm around Tadashi who let out a content sigh and settled against Fred comfortably. Fred hoped Tadashi couldn't feel his pounding heart.
He and Tadashi dating didn't seem to change much about how they were around each other, but Fred found he liked that a lot. Past boyfriends made him feel like he had to be perfect, with Tadashi he could just be himself. His boyfriend could also be his best friend. The next song came on and Fred paused to listen for a moment,
Funny how it turns out,
That everything can change,
What I feel right now,
Is not the same as yesterday,
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Fred stood and asked.
"Would you like to dance?" Lowering his hand for Tadashi to take. Tadashi started at it uncertainly for a moment before smiling up at Fred and saying,
"Yes," and taking his hand. Fred led him onto the dance floor. He then faced Tadashi and placed one hand on Tadashi's hip and with the other took Tadashi's hand as he started moving along with the music.
Now I realize,
There's so much more to learn,
I'm ready for the world,
Not scared of letting go,
Now I realize,
There's so much more to feel,
And my heart knows it's real,
The part of me so long forgotten,
Is calling and this feels like home,
Fred smiled at Tadashi as he nervously watched his feet as they moved to try and avoid stepping on Fred's foot.
"Tadashi," Fred whispered, waiting for Tadashi to look up before continuing, "Don't look at our feet okay, just focus on me."
"Okay…" Tadashi nervously agreed as Fred pulled him against his body, Tadashi's hand nervously curling around Fred's neck. Their eyes met and both started to grin as they continued to move, eyes remaining on each other. Fred pressed his forehead against Tadashi's, grinning at Tadashi who relaxed slightly and returned the grin.
Right from the start,
Been friends forever,
Somehow were meant to be together,
I feel like you've shown me how to find my way home,
Find my way home,
Fred's heart was pounding madly in his chest as they danced, their lips so close they were practically touching. Fred desperately wanted to kiss him but refrained. It would be really weird to just up and kiss him on their first sort of date. He could feel Tadashi's warm breath on his lips and had to again fight the urge to kiss him right then and there.
"Can I kiss you?" Fred whispered, not realizing the words where coming out until it was too late. Tadashi looked surprised by the words, but also nervous and maybe even a little excited.
"Yes," Tadashi breathed. Before either of them could chicken out Fred titled his head and closed the distance between their lips, his eyes slipping shut when their lips touched. Tadashi's lips moved hesitantly against Fred's, his thumb caressing Fred's cheek. Fred's hand cupped Tadashi's face, his heart pounding in his chest.
When they broke apart Fred pressed his forehead against Tadashi's and whispered, "Wow."
"That was an awesome first kiss." Tadashi whispered slightly breathless. Fred was about to say something when he distantly heard clapping and cheering. Fred reluctantly tore his gaze away from Tadashi's eyes, freezing when he finally realized students had encircled them while they danced and where now excitedly clapping. Tadashi turned bright red and buried his face in Fred's shoulder with a laugh. "I guess they all know now…"
"I guess so," Fred agreed, laughing and spinning around with Tadashi in his arms who started laughing even harder. Honey Lemon suddenly appeared and linked arms with Tadashi saying,
"Come on and dance with me!"
"Wait I-" Tadashi protested but she was already pulling him away as Wasabi placed a heavy arm around Fred's shoulders and started to led him away saying,
"Come on let's get some punch."
"I'm not thirsty," Fred argued.
"Well I am and your date might be so come on," Gogo agreed appearing on Fred's other side.
"Okay…" Fred nervously agreed, trying to figure out what his friends where doing. Wasabi let go once they reached the punch table so he could grab something for himself and Gogo said,
"Alright, let me start by saying I am really happy for you and Tadashi. You both seem really happy together."
"That said," Wasabi continued, a serious expression on his face, "If you break Tadashi's heart I will break your neck." Fred paled as he stared at Wasabi gaping.
"Enjoy your night," Gogo said with a smile before walking off, followed by Wasabi who patted Fred's back before leaving. Fred remained frozen by the punch bowl until Tadashi returned asking,
"What was that all about?" When Fred didn't answer Tadashi waved a hand in front of Fred's face saying, "Earth to Fred. Anyone home?" Fred shook his head and said,
"Uh yea um…hi…"
"Hi," Tadashi said with an amused smile. "What did Gogo and Wasabi want?"
"Uh…." Fred stammered, feeling uncomfortable. "Just uh….stuff…"
"Okay then…" Tadashi slowly said, looking concerned.
"They were just being weird," Fred assured.
"Okay if you're sure…" Tadashi said, leaning over to kiss Fred's cheek. "Want to go dance?" A grin spread across his face at the feeling of Tadashi's lips on his cheek.
"Definitely," Fred said, wrapping an arm around Tadashi's waist and pecking his lips. Asking Tadashi out was a wonderful decision.
