The lab was really quiet at night.

She hadn't planned on coming in this late – to be completely honest, walking around on campus at night with no one else kinda freaked her out – but she'd left her binder full of notes on the shelf of her work space. There was no way she was leaving her stuff around for anyone to pick up.

She practically tiptoes across the linoleum flooring – her heels still clacked quietly on the surface every other step, which wasn't helpful – edging around gadgets and gizmos other people had left strewn across the work floor.

The sight of everyone's projects spread out everywhere almost made her turn and leave – if they trusted that nobody would mess with their stuff, then so should she – but the thought of leaving her notes here made her stomach churn slightly. She hadn't left her personal belongings where other people could easily get to them since middle school, and being a freshman in college surrounded by much smarter people hadn't changed that habit.

There way were; nestled into the far corner of the small space she'd been assigned, where all sorts of chemicals and equipment had been given to her to use at her transgression.

She sighed in relief, reaching up to grab them and pull them close to her chest as if they were a dear friend – which, in a way, they were – and began to turn away, intent on going home and getting a hot bath-

"What are you doing here?"

The voice caused her to spasm comically, jumping nearly half a foot off the ground and fumbling with her pink binder, thankfully catching it before it could go careening into a line of empty beakers.

She squeaked as she turned her head toward the source of the voice, eyes wide and mouth already moving. "I'm sorry; I know we're not supposed to be in here after hours, I just-"

She finally caught sight of the person who'd spoken, and she paused midsentence, eyes blinking behind her glasses rapidly.

He couldn't have been much older than her, really. He was tall – not taller than her; there weren't many people who were – with broad shoulders and a baseball cap perched on his head. He was currently sporting a half amused, half shocked deer-caught-in-headlights sort of look, mouth quirked slightly in a laugh but eyes wide in what looked like guilt.

Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, still trying to figure out how to work, before her brain suddenly connected and she coughed, "Uh, well, what are you doing here?!"

It was the only thing she could think of to say, but he flushed bright red and that guilty look was back as he took a step back, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck.

"I asked you first," he muttered, clearly embarrassed to have gotten caught but also clearly not ready to fess up that he'd done something wrong.

"I asked you second!" she shot back, feeling her mouth slowly turn upward in a smile of triumph. This was weird; she never really got the chance to talk to others about anything other than chemistry, and it seemed this guy didn't really realize this was almost exactly the sort of conversation a pair of eight year olds would have in a cartoon.

"I just-" he waved one hand absently at a work space she'd seen on the way in, littered with metal bits and wires, with what looked like the beginnings of a metal exoskeleton stuffed somewhere in the back, "I came back to get my data chip. I didn't think there would be someone in here."

"Uh," she paused, looking down at her binder and giggling awkwardly, "I came back to get my chemistry notes. I wasn't sure if the older students would do something to them or not."

"That's what I thought!" the guy blurted out, only to flush a little darker, as if he hadn't meant to say that aloud.

"You're a freshman?" she asked, a bit surprised – he didn't look that young, to be honest, but then again reading people wasn't exactly her forte.

"Yeah," he sighed, turning away to face his work table and pluck up something from it (she saw a flash of green as he put it in his pocket), "And everyone's been super nice so far, but there's always the off chance-"

"That someone's jealous of the new kid," she finished for him, making him looks up in surprise. She smiled sheepishly, holding her notes out a little. "Being a genius has its downsides."

"Yeah, it does," he said, blinking at her up and down as if just now taking in her appearance; blonde hair held back by a headband, wearing a colorful green top that matched her eyes and tan shorts over gaudy pink high heels that matched her glasses, with a pink purse to finish it all off. It wasn't her best outfit, but she'd been so nervous about her second day of classes she'd simply thrown on everything she found first (most people didn't like her outfits no matter how much time she put into them, so what the heck?).

"I don't believe we've met," he continued, walking toward her slowly, as if sensing her nervousness over being alone in the lab with some strange guy she'd never seen before – except she had seen him, at the entrance ceremony yesterday, with a wide spread group of friends around him.

He held out a hand to her once he was close enough, hat tilted back slightly and an easygoing smile on his face. "Name's Tadashi Hamada."

She smiled back, feeling a bit better now that she had a name to stick to the face. "I'm Honey Lemon. Ah, my name's not really Honey Lemon, that's just a nickname my friend gave me, but everyone calls me that, so, yeah. Honey Lemon." She rambled slightly, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously, matching his grin with a nervous smile.

"Nice to meet you, Honey," he chuckled, obviously finding her rambling funny (most people thought it was annoying).

The lab was really quiet at night. Unless there were two people inside wandering around after hours and sneaking past the janitors to avoid getting into trouble.


A/N: My sister got me into this pairing and now there's no getting me out of it. Enjoy!
~Persephone