Fred wiped his brow, fanning himself with his hat as the hot Texas sun beats down on him. It was his second week of working on the Hamada's farm, and it was a lot harder than movies made it seem. Everything ached, he was pretty sure he had some major blisters forming on his hands over the ones he already had, and it wasn't even noon yet. Still, it had always been a dream of his to live and work on a farm, and when his dad told him that a friend of his was looking for an extra hand, he'd jumped on the chance. Not that his father was letting him do this indefinitely. He was insistent that Fred go on to get his higher education, and Fred honestly couldn't see himself doing this for the rest of his life. Still, his dad had agreed to let him help out on the ranch for the summer before he started at San Fransokyo University as a freshman that fall, and he had eagerly packed his bags, looking forward to a summer of living the romantic, small-town western life he'd read about in so many novels.

Unfortunately for him, it turned out that living and working on a farm wasn't near as wonderful as it sounded on the pages of a book. It required getting up before the crack of dawn, working out in the blistering heat all day, and then dropping into bed when the sun finally went down, only to get up and having to do it all over again the next day. If he'd thought the first week of fence-mending and picking peaches in the orchard, on top of the daily chore of putting the cows out to pasture and bringing them in at night was bad, it was nothing to being out in the field all day pitching hay. At least in the orchard there had been trees for shade, but out here he had no cover whatsoever. It wasn't like Cassidy Hamada, the woman who owned the farm, was trying to mean to him. There was just a lot of work that needed to be done to keep it running and not near enough people to do it all. Right now it was just Aunt Cass (as she insisted he call her), her youngest nephew, Hiro, and Fred. Apparently she'd tried to hire on a helper back when her eldest nephew had gone off to university the previous fall but she couldn't pay enough to keep a regular worker. The poor place had become pretty run down with just the two trying to keep things going, which is why they needed so much help. It was also why, as hard as this was, Fred was determined to stay the entire summer, even if it killed him (which it might, given he'd never worked a day before this in his life.) Aunt Cass had promised that her eldest nephew would be back sometime during the week and he'd be able to help as well, so that was something, at least. She'd told him that the nephew's name was Tadashi and sure, he'd seen some picture of him around the house, but he hadn't paid much attention to them. He'd been told that the guy was some sort of robotics expert-something of a rarity in this small town community, but apparently that was the field their father had studied before the unfortunate accident that took both of the boys' parents' lives and left the two to live alone here on the family farm with their aunt. While Fred was sure the guy was nice enough, he sounded like some kind of genius, and since Hiro was also a genius and came across as kind of shy and withdrawn, the older brother was probably the same way and so the farmhand couldn't see them becoming really good friends or anything.

Or anything. Yeah, that was the other reason Fred hadn't looked to closely at the pictures. He could already tell that the guy was majorly attractive, but there was little to no chance that he didn't already have a string of girls after him both here in his hometown and at the university that he apparently went to, and he was probably already taken. Beyond that, what was the chances that he'd actually be gay? Knowing Fred's luck with his long list of unrequited crushes, zero to none. So it was probably best that he stayed as far away from the guy as he could so that he didn't end up falling head over heels for him and making everything ridiculously complicated and embarrassing for everyone.

Needing a distraction from his current train of thought, Fred glances up at the sky. The sun was almost directly overhead, which meant it was almost time for lunch. Huh, usually Aunt Cass would have sent Hiro out to bring him in by now. This was weird, had something hap-Oh, that's right. At breakfast, hadn't she said something about today being the day that she was going to go pick Tadashi up from the airport and so lunch was going to be a bit late? He'd honestly been a little too dead to the world, just barely managing to get the biscuits and gravy she'd put in front of him into his mouth, so he couldn't remember clearly, but he was pretty sure that's what she'd said. Well, if it was still going to be a while, he at least needed to go get out of the sun for a bit before he developed heat stroke, so he begins heading for the line of trees bordering the edge of the field. Not only did they provide at least light shade from the unrelenting Texas heat, on the first day of work Hiro had showed him the small creek that ran through them and how it worked as a great way to cool off fast. At the beginning of that first week, Fred had been a little unsure of just wading into an unknown body of water (not that he was a germophobe in the least-quite the opposite, actually, but he just wasn't used to the whole rocks and fish and who knew what all else getting under your feet when he'd grown up his entire life with the only water he ever actually came into contact with involved swimming pools or bathtubs.) By now, though, survival had gotten rid of all squeamishness and he eagerly strips off his shirt before gratefully wading in up to his waist. Oh yeah. This was much better. He leans against a large stone that bordered the stream and was conveniently placed so that you could put your arms up on it and just close your eyes and soak away the stress for a good minute or two before getting back to work. And that's exactly what Fred did. He was so enjoying the peace and quiet and relaxation of the moment, in fact, that he didn't hear someone approaching until an unfamiliar voice suddenly broke into his reverie, saying, "Um, hi. You must be Fred?"

Fred was so startled that he slipped right off the rock, just barely managing to keep from faceplanting right into the stream, but managing to splash himself enough that he was completely drenched.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" the unfamiliar voice cries, sounding alarmed.

"Y-yeah, f-fine," Fred splutters, trying to regain his balance on the slippery creek floor before turning to see-Oh, wow.

Standing there on the bank of the creek was probably the most gorgeous man Fred had ever seen. He was approximately six feet tall, maybe a little taller, with broad shoulders and a tapered waist that somehow worked together even though they probably shouldn't have. His soft black hair was swept up off of his face to reveal two adorably large ears and a set of gorgeous brown eyes which were, at the moment, filled with concern.

"Ebeh…" Wow, great, way to set the mood Fred, mumbling unintelligibly. Now the guy probably thought he was either some creepy stalker or else completely stupid. If he was lucky, maybe he'd think that he'd accidentally hit his head on the rock. Better yet, maybe he should just hit his head on the rock because it would be easier than the slow death of shame for acting like a complete incompetent in front of this beautiful stranger.

Fortunately, either the other man didn't notice his incoherent mumbling or was choosing to politely ignore it as he holds his hand out to him. "Here, let me help you," he says, his voice soft with an undercurrent of mild southern drawl, something which only made him all the more adorable.

"T-thanks," Fred breathes, reaching out to take the hand and finding it's grip extremely strong, only confirming his suspicions that under that green flannel shirt was a row of muscles that were probably as gorgeous as the rest of the guy. Once he's on solid ground again, he can't help but stare up into those beautiful eyes, which were staring back at him with a mixture of confusion and something else he couldn't quite identify…

At the same time, both guys suddenly realize that they're still holding hands, and they quickly break the contact, both acting like they'd been burned and, was it Fred's imagination, or was the other man blushing too?

"U-um, I think this is yours," the man says, scooping Fred's shirt up off of the ground and holding it out to him.

"Y-yeah, t-thanks," Fred agrees, gratefully taking it before adding wryly, "It's probably the only part of me that's dry right now…"

The other man lets out a low chuckle at that which sounded like absolute music to the farmhand's ears before smiling apologetically and saying, "Sorry 'bout that… My aunt sent me out here to find you and bring you back for lunch. I didn't meant to startle you."

"No, it's fine!" Fred reassures him quickly as he worms back into his shirt, only to pause mid-way as the truth hits. "Wait, your aunt? Oh, you must be Tadashi!"

"Yep, that would be me," Tadashi agrees with a smile that could only be described as brilliant.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," Fred says, trying to keep his tone casual and hurrying to keep up as the other man starts heading back towards the house and gestures for him to follow.

"Same to you," Tadashi agrees with a warm smile. They walk in comfortable silence, the farmhand feeling slightly giddy and trying to resist the urge to catch the other man's freely swinging hand in his own and hold it. Then Tadashi finally speaks again.

"Aunt Cass has been telling me a lot about you since you got here," he says, looking somewhat regretful as he adds, "I'm just sorry I couldn't be back sooner to help out around here. But there are just some things you can't control… Still makes me feel like a jerk for not being here for my family when they need me."

"Hey, don't say that!" Fred hurries to reassure him. "Your aunt thinks the world of you-she never stops talking about how proud she is of you and what you're doing! And Hiro doesn't talk much, but when he does it's about his 'nii-chan' and how he wants to be just like you!"

"That's certainly flattering." Tadashi gives him a grateful smile. "Thanks for telling me that. I just can't help but feel guilty sometimes about leaving all of this behind…"

"Well, if it's your dream to do robotics, then it's your responsibility to follow that dream and make the world a better place with it!" Fred declares. "And besides, the fact that you're coming back here during the summer to help and you're so concerned about your family says a lot about you."

Tadashi flashes him another grateful look, although this time Fred couldn't help but wonder if he was imagining it or if the gaze lingered a little longer than was strictly speaking necessary.

"Niisan!" Fred's train of thought was quickly broken by the sound of Hiro's voice, and he's slightly startled to look up and see the younger boy waving to them-well, waving to Tadashi, anyways-from the porch. Wow, had they come this far already? Well, it couldn't be helped, and he follows silently after Tadashi who hurries up to the porch to scoop his younger brother up into a hug before giving him a playful noogie.

Lunch was a cheerful affair, with Aunt Cass doing most of the talking while trying to force more and more food on Tadashi, telling him that the university cafeteria wasn't feeding him right because he was all skin and bones. Hiro just sat, listening with rapt attention to all of his older brother's stories, and Fred did much the same, although he did less listening than appreciatively watching every one of the other man's movements and facial expressions. Oh man, despite his best intentions, he had fallen and fallen hard.

"So, how are you liking working here?" Tadashi asks, and it takes the farmhand a full minute to realize that the question was being directed at him.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm loving it!" Fred answers, forcing a grin onto his face and quickly trying to act like he hadn't been staring at him for the past five minutes.

"Do you plan to have an actual farm of your own someday?" Tadashi questions, his expression full of open curiosity.

"Oh, um, not really," Fred admits. "I'm planning to be a writer, actually. But I thought that spending a summer working on a farm would give me some really great experience if I decide to write a story… y'know, about working on a farm?" He winces slightly at that lame finish. On paper, his words came out so easily, but when it came to regular conversations, Shakespeare he was not.

Tadashi doesn't seem to mind, though, smiling and saying, "That's great! It's awesome that you're willing to actually live your art instead of just reading about it."

"Tadashi's quite the bookworm himself," Aunt Cass say with a warm smile. "Maybe you two might have something in common there!"

'Yeah, maybe," Fred agrees, flashing Tadashi a shy smile which the other man returns with an easy one of his own.

"You two can talk about it at the barbecue tonight-it'll be good for you two to get to know each other," Aunt Cass tells them, her eyes sparkling slightly.

"U-um, barbecue?" Fred asks, his mind drawing a blank. Man, he needed to find some way to be more alert in the mornings so he wouldn't keep missing all of the apparently important information.

"Aunt Cass always has a barbecue for special occasions," Tadashi explains with a wry smile. "She always overdoes it, and I keep telling her that she doesn't have to have one just for me coming home-"

"Of course I do!" Aunt Cass answers, looking slightly affronted. "Your coming home is something to celebrate, and I'll be damned if I don't do everything I can to make it the best one we can manage to scrape together!"

"Yes ma'am," Tadashi agrees respectfully, obviously knowing better than to argue with her.

"Good!" Aunt Cass beams at him before standing up from the table. "Well, I'd better get back to work getting ready for tonight. Hiro, back to your chores. Tadashi, you head on upstairs and rest up, alright? I know you've had a long day and you'll need your strength for tonight."

"Aunt Cass, I'm supposed to be helping out now that I'm back home, I can't just-" Tadashi starts to protest, but the older woman cuts him off with a stern glare.

"No arguments," she says firmly.

"Yes ma'am," Tadashi sighs before heading for the stairs.

"Oh, before I forget, dear, I invited some of the neighbors," Aunt Cass calls after him, adding with a smile, "Mrs. March is going to be coming, and she's bringing her girls-she said Meg was looking forward to seeing you!"

"R-Right." Was Fred imagining things, or had Tadashi flinched at that?

No, he must be imagining things, he decides as he glumly heads back out to the fields. Meg was most likely Tadashi's girlfriend. The two had probably been high school sweethearts and they were going to get engaged and be married and have a whole family of adorable children who would all have Tadashi's gorgeous eyes…

Fred spends the rest of the afternoon dismally imagining Tadashi's relationship with this "Meg" girl. He was so caught up in his thoughts, in fact, that he was surprised when he looked up from his work only to find the sun low in the sky. Wow, was it time to head in already? Turning back towards the house, he could distantly see the shapes of what looked like flatbed trucks parked along the dirt pathway. The barbecue must have already started, or at least was moving in that direction. For a moment, he panics at the thought of being late, but then he remembers that he hadn't been officially invited and, even if the brief mention that he could attend had been meant seriously, did they really want him, an outsider, at this special family affair? Honestly, probably no one had even realized that he wasn't there. Sighing heavily, he starts the long trudge back across the field towards the house.

Once there, he heads in the back door, deciding to just slip up the stairs and hide out in the room Aunt Cass had given him to stay in while he was with them, only to be caught off guard by the sound of older woman's voice crying, "There you are! I was about to send Hiro out after you!"

"Oh, s-sorry," Fred apologizes. "I didn't mean to worry anyone. I just kind of got caught up in my work-you know how it goes."

Aunt Cass gives him a warm smile. "You're a hard worker, Fred. I really appreciate that. A lot of the young men we've brought in here over the years only do the minimum they have to do to get paid and leave the rest of the work undone. But you pay attention to the details and do a really good job with things, and you deserve a break. Why don't you head upstairs and get yourself cleaned up and then come on down and join us?"

"A-am I allowed?" Fred asks in disbelief.

"Of course you are!" Aunt Cass replies, looking like she can't believe that he'd even need to ask. "You're a part of the family now, you're automatically invited to everything we do."

"R-really? T-thank you!" Fred can't help but feel a surge of gratitude at that. His own parents had never been particularly close, mainly treating him like something they pulled out to show off at their fancy formal events and then forgot about until the next time he was expected to show up. The Hamadas treated him more like family than his own ever had, and he now was honestly really glad that he'd taken this summer job because, without it, he never would have known what that felt like.

Per Aunt Cass's instructions, upstairs he quickly jumps in the shower to rinse off a day's worth of sweat and dirt before heading to get into clean clothes. For a moment, he's stumped, not knowing what's expected to be worn at parties out here. If it had been something his parents were hosting, a suit and tie would have been considered mandatory, but something told him that was definitely not the case here (not that he'd even packed a suit if that had been the case.) A quick glance out the window gave him the information he needed, and he quickly settles on the nicest pair of jeans that he has and the one flannel shirt he actually owned (usually he just wore a plain white t-shirt out in the fields, it was too hot for anything more than that!) Most of the guys seemed to be wearing boots, but as his own were still caked with mud and everything else from work for the day, he hopes that he won't stand out too much in a pair of tennis shoes. After running a comb through his hair (and wishing he could get away with wearing his standard beanie like he did at home but knowing that it would stand out too much here), he takes a deep breath for courage and heads down the stairs to join the barbecue.

He follows the sound of music out to the front of the house where he finds the party in full swing. People were everywhere, laughing, talking, and smiling like they all knew each other-which, Fred realized, they probably did. Tables were heaped with more food than the farmhand would have imagined possible for such a small gathering, and the delicious smell of cooking meat wafted off of the grills where Aunt Cass and a couple of others were hard at work. A small band, consisting of a fiddle player, a guitarist, and someone on a harmonica were providing the music Fred had heard earlier, and a few couples were already dancing while the rest of the guests mingled around them. It was hard not to feel at ease with how laid back and welcoming the whole scene appeared, and even though Fred didn't really know anyone here outside of the Hamadas, he found himself inextricably drawn into the middle of things, wanting very much to be a part of it.

The Hamadas' neighbors proved to be extremely friendly-after one older man kindly asked him his name and how he knew the family, he found himself suddenly being introduced to everyone in attendance, all equally as kind and apparently glad to have him there. It was completely unlike what he was used to in San Fransokyo, but he absolutely loved it.

Eventually he found himself standing near the food tables and was debating making up a plate like a grandmotherly lady with withered apple cheeks and crooked teeth but possibly the sweetest smile Fred had ever seen suggested when suddenly he feels a hand grabbing his arm and he's being pulled away by-

"Tadashi!" Fred blinks in surprise when he sees the other man standing there, a smile on his face that looked almost desperate.

"Fred, I'd like you to meet the March sisters," Tadashi says as he gestures to a small group of girls, acting as if he were introducing an old friend instead of someone he had only just met that day. Unsure of what else to do, the farmhand decides to just go with it.

There were four March sisters, as it turned out-Meg, the eldest, followed by Jo (Josephine, although she threatened to skin anyone who actually called her that), Beth, and Amy. Fred immediately took a liking to Jo-she was apparently a childhood friend of Tadashi's and her tomboyish spunk made her easy to talk to, although she almost took the farmhand's arm off when she shook his hand. Beth was a quiet, if somewhat frail looking girl, but she offered Fred a shy smile and he decided that he liked her as well. Amy seemed a little too full of herself for her own good, but Fred could find some humor in that so he decided to just let it go. Meg, on the other hand, he instantly took a great disliking too. And it wasn't just the fact that she was a southern belle who could easily sweep any guy off of his feet and that he'd spent the entire afternoon imagining horrible things about her. It was the way that she seemed to be standing a little too close to Tadashi, touching his arm or other parts of him when she thought no one was looking, and the poor man looked like he would rather be anywhere else but was too polite to say anything.

Well. Fred couldn't help but glow at the thought. As bad as he felt for Tadashi, apparently the other man wasn't interested in this girl! And hell if Fred wasn't going to take advantage of the situation to be the one who saved him from this.

"I'm sorry," he says, cutting smoothly between Meg and Tadashi and not sounding a bit sorry, "but if you don't mind, I'd like to ask this gentleman to dance with me."

"D-dance with you?" Meg's eyes go wide with confusion. "Why would you do that?"

Because he's gorgeous and I want to sweep him off of his damn beautiful feet, that's why, Fred wants to answer, although he manages to hold that in.

"If a feller wants to dance with a feller, I don't see why not," Jo pipes in helpfully, smiling at the idea. "Heck, girls dance with girls all the time at these things, in rings and such, why shouldn't men be allowed to do it too?"

"I-it just isn't done!" Meg answers stiffly.

"Oh, c'mon, don't be such an old biddy!" Jo laughs before taking her sister's hand and pulling her, protesting loudly, out onto the dance floor.

"T-thank you..." Fred feels himself flushing slightly as he looks over at Tadashi, who was giving him an extremely grateful smile. "S-sorry about that… Meg's a nice enough girl, but she doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer…"

"Not a problem," Fred answers, waving it off like it really wasn't a big deal but internally glowing. "So, um…" he asks after a couple of moments of semi-awkward silence. "Would you actually like to dance? I mean, not that we have to, of course! We could just go get some food or hang out and talk about books, or-"

"Actually, I have a better idea," Tadashi answers, smiling slightly as gestures for him to follow him. "C'mon, there's something I want to show you, but it's around back."

"O-okay, lead the way," Fred replies, glad to have his uncomfortable rambling cut short. He was also curious as to what exactly the other man wants to show him, so he just follows along in wondering silence as Tadashi leads him out towards the little old run-down barn where the cows and the family's horses were kept.

"So, um, what exactly did you want to show me?" Fred asks once they're inside, looking around with interest at his surroundings. He was in here every morning and everyone night when he led the cows in or out, but he'd never really taken a chance to look around in detail. He was so momentarily lost in taking in everything that he didn't notice Tadashi shifting uncertainly from one foot to the other until suddenly he felt the other man's hands gripping his shirt, pulling him flesh against him.

"O-oh… Um, hi?" Fred squeaks, staring up into those beautiful brown eyes that were filled with confusion, a little bit of fear, but also an intense determination that was making the farmhand go weak at the knees.

"Please-don't speak," Tadashi whispers, his right hand trailing over Fred's cheek before suddenly leaning in and pressing his lips against the other man's. It was only for a second and then he instantly pulls away, his entire face flushed and looking a cross between completely horrified at what he'd just done and rebelliously proud of it.

Fred was left standing there, gaping in shock at him, his entire body rigid and his brain seeming to have completely frozen up, until Tadashi finally says softly, "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that without your permission… I was just so sure from the way you were looking at me earlier that you…"

"Sorry?" Fred cries, his brain finally starting to work again and a grin spreading across his face. "What the hell are you sorry for? That was awesome!"

"Y-yeah?" Tadashi's eyes flash hopefully.

"Yeah!" Fred agrees eagerly.

"D-do you you want to do it again?" Tadashi asks shyly.

"Um, hell yes!" Fred answers.

"Good." Tadashi grins. "Because I do too."

About half an hour later, the two are lying side by side on a pile of fresh hay, well hidden from any prying eyes that might be trying to see through the door and both acting as giddy as two cats who had gotten into a whole patch of catnip.

"Wow," Fred says, grinning over at Tadashi. "You're a really good kisser, you know that?"

"I think it was mostly you," Tadashi answers, blushing but looking pleased at the praise. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing!"

"You were fine," Fred replies, waving aside the comment but knowing that it had been him who had helped the other man figure out how to tilt his head so that their noses didn't crash into each other and even gotten things a little hot with some minor tongue action.

"H-have you done that before?" Tadashi asks quietly.

"What, kissing?" Fred answers.

"W-well, not just kissing… Kissing other guys," Tadashi replies, looking both scandalized and excited by the idea.

"Dude, I have only ever kissed guys!" Fred laughs.

"Really?" Tadashi asks, his eyes lighting with curiosity.

"Totally," Fred agrees. "I knew I was gay from really early on, so I didn't even bother messing around with girls or trying to convince myself I was straight. I knew what I liked, and I went for it."

Tadashi seems to flinch slightly at the use of the word, but he asks quietly, "So, um… If I liked kissing you… Does that make me… gay?"

"Well, not necessarily," Fred answers. "I mean, you could be bi or pansexual. Do you like girls?"

"Ye-No," Tadashi admits, sighing like he'd just admitted a huge secret. "I… I tried, but I just… I've never really felt really attracted to them. I thought there was something wrong with me, and so when Meg started coming after me I figured that maybe I could learn to like her… Y'know, that way? But no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work. If anything, it just made me like her even less. And then when I went off to college… It was like an entirely new world. I didn't even know what 'gay' meant, I'd only heard it called 'sodomy' around here, if anyone even dared to bring it up. I tried to tell myself that I wasn't that way, that I really wasn't romantically inclined towards guys. But I just found myself thinking more and more about it and even though it's against everything I was ever taught I started thinking that maybe I was. I've been really confused about it for a really long time and I knew I could never talk to my family about it, but…" He looks over at Fred the way a survivor of the Titanic would look at a life preserver. "Today, when I met you… Something about you just made me feel all excited inside-like the way I've heard you're supposed to feel when you like someone. And I kept trying to tell myself that it wasn't right, that I shouldn't feel that way, but… I did. And when I saw you coming out of the house looking all handsome tonight, I just… I knew I needed to try kissing you. Even if it got me sent to hell, it would be better than never having done it."

Fred lets out a low whistle before saying, "Damn… You've been living with some really fucked up shit you're entire life, haven't you?"

"W-what?" Tadashi looks slightly caught off guard by the other man's words.

"Let me guess-you were raised up religious, right?" Fred asks with a slight smile.

"Yes," Tadashi answers a little bit defensively.

"Hey, not saying there's anything wrong with that-I was and am too," Fred answers, which seemed to soothe the other man's nerves. "I'm just saying that there are a lot of ideas running around in the church that are completely messed up. I mean, for centuries the institution that was supposed to be showing love and hope to people has instead been hurting people who need to most support instead of helping them. I'm not going to give you a sermon tonight or anything-I'm not that great with that sort of thing-but I've got some stuff I read, not so much when I was figuring out my sexuality, 'cause I never had any problems with it, but when I was trying to help some of my other friends out who were dealing with their own stuff. Let's just say, bottom line, you're not going to hell for this, okay?"

"I-Okay," Tadashi says softly, nodding. "I'd like to read whatever you have 'cause it might help me… Especially when I have to explain this to my family…"

"And you don't have to tell them immediately," Fred tells him gently. When the other man looks startled by this suggestion, he says, "I'm not saying you don't tell them ever or lie to them! But let's just say I've helped a lot of my friends through this same thing, and, until you're on firmer ground, you probably shouldn't say anything until you've figured this all out for yourself."

"O-okay," Tadashi agrees quietly. "I guess I can see what you mean by that. I just… I don't want to lose my family over this…"

"If they really love you, they'll accept you for whoever you are. And if they don't, well, they don't deserve to have someone as amazing as you in their lives," Fred declares firmly.

"You won't say anything until I'm ready?" Tadashi asks.

"Not a word," Fred agrees. "And I won't try to do anything that might make it obvious that we're together until you say so."

"So… are we together?" Tadashi replies uncertainly.

"Whoa, dang, sorry, did I overstep my bounds?" Fred answers, blushing slightly. "Sorry, guess I just thought… But I guess I was making too many assumptions there…"

"No." Tadashi reaches over and squeezes his hand lightly. "I-I'd like that, actually, if you want to be…"

"Hell yes!" Fred laughs, grinning as he rolls over to face him.

"So, what does that make us?" Taashi asks. "I mean, what do I call you?"

"Well, I know some people prefer the term 'partner', but I'm pretty fine with just being your boyfriend, if that's okay with you," Fred answers with a warm smile.

"Boyfriend…" Tadashi says the word, as if trying to get the feel for it, his nose scrunched up in concentration in a way that Fred found completely adorable.

"I mean, it's cool if you don't want to call me that!" Fred says quickly. "It's just a thought!"

"Well, I never pictured myself calling someone that, but I like it," Tadashi answers, grinning slightly. "So, does this make me your boyfriend?"

"If you want to be," Fred answers, squirming with pleasure at the thought.

"Yeah, definitely." Tadashi grins, nuzzling into him slightly.

"Oh, well, good!" Fred can't help from beaming like a complete and total idiot but not really caring.

"Is it weird to say that you smell good?" Tadashi asks from where he had his face pressed up against the farmhand's neck.

"I'd say that counts as an awesome compliment, but definitely not weird," Fred laughs before asking, "You want me to start returning the favor, telling you all of the things I find attractive about you? Because there are a lot."

"I…" Tadashi blushes bright pink, and his adorable blush quickly gets added to the ever growing list of his best traits. "Maybe… Just not right now. Call me old fashioned, but even if I am going against pretty much everything I was ever taught, if we're going to be courting, or dating, or whatever you want to call it, I would like to get to know you first before we start doing all the things… y'know, that couples do?"

"Oh, yeah, totally! I'm completely down with that!" Fred agrees. "I'm an open book, so ask me anything!"

The next hour or so is spent discussing favorite hobbies, books, and tv shows-it turned out that, given he lived in a rather rural area, Tadashi had mainly had access to the classics stories that were close to Fred's literature loving heart, and, even better, some of his classmates at the university had started introducing him to some of the nerd fandoms that the farmhand was deeply devoted to, and Fred was more than eager to help introduce him to even more. Talking about Tadashi's friends at the university led to Fred asking where he went to school, and he was stunned to find out that he was studying at SFIT, right in Fred's home town. Of course it made more sense once Tadashi told him that his dad had gone to SFIT back in the day, which explained how Fred's dad probably knew the Hamadas in the first place. Fred couldn't help but be excited by this-being so close meant that maybe, just maybe this wouldn't end up being a summer fling that had to end when they had to part ways. With Fred being so close by, they could still date-if anything, they'd probably have more freedom because, as Fred pointed out, people were a lot more accepting and open-minded in the city than they were here.

"Whoa, how late is it?" the farmhand suddenly thinks to ask, glancing out the window near the top of the barn and realizing that the sky had gotten pretty dark while they were in here.

"Not too late," Tadashi reassures him.

"Still, we'd better get back before anyone starts looking for us-I mean, you are the guest of honor, after all, and people might start talking if they saw us in here alone," Fred points out, sitting up and starting to brush the hay off of himself.

"No they won't," Tadashi answers, also sitting up but seeming less worried than the other man. "Around here, no one would ever get suspicious because they'd never expect to guys to be doing anything beyond just hanging out and shooting the breeze, In other words, as long as we don't start kissing or holding hands or something so blatant that it can't be ignored, people will only choose to see what they want to see."

"Why Tadashi Hamada, how downright devious of you!" Fred cries, pretending to be shocked.

"Just following your example," Tadashi answers innocently.

"So you're saying I'm a bad influence?" Fred asks, grinning at the thought.

"Oh, the worst," Tadashi agrees before reaching over to pull him into another kiss.