Tadashi awoke with a terribly pounding in his head, almost instantly wishing that he was back asleep. Everything was a blur, and as he fought the urge to hurl, he wondered if he was sick or something. But then finally bits and pieces of the previous night start coming back to him, and he lets out yet another groan. Tadashi did not drink. Despite being well over the legal age, he just really didn't see the draw in getting himself buzzed or even slightly wasted and probably doing things he'd later regret, not to mention the hangover afterwards. Once or twice at one his boyfriend Fred's family's events, he'd sipped on wine or champagne because that was customary, but that was about the extent of his excursions into the world of fermented beverages. Last night, though-last night had been a major mistake. It had been GoGo's birthday, and, as was the custom, the group let her pick where she wanted to celebrate. She chose the nightclub where she and her girlfriend, Honey Lemon, had first met back in high school (that was a bit of a long and a complicated story that seemed to change every time Tadashi heard it.) Tadashi wasn't really a big fan of the club scene-all the loud music and flashing lights were more headache inducing than pleasurable to him. Still, it was his friend's birthday and so he decided to go along with it. That was probably also the only reason he'd somehow let GoGo convince him to actually have a drink. Usually if the group went to a place like this, even if he wasn't the designated driver (which, thank goodness, last night that responsibility had fallen to Wasabi), he'd drink soda or something else benign while letting the others drink whatever they wanted. GoGo could hold down just about anything without really experiencing the effects, but she had seemed a tiny bit intoxicated (although not as much as Honey Lemon, who had a weakness for rum) when, a ways into the evening, she had started almost aggressively insisting that she was not going to leave until Tadashi had had at least one drink. Finally he'd acquiesced, although as she'd practically raced off to the bar, he'd fervently reminded her that he was a lightweight and so not to get him anything too strong. Fred, who had been at the table with him, had reassured him that she just wanted him to have a good time and wouldn't get him anything that would get him too terribly inebriated.
Tadashi should have trusted his instincts instead of listening to his boyfriend's reassurances. Whatever GoGo had gotten him, he instinctively knew it was strong, although since he wasn't that experienced with alcohol he hadn't realized just how strong it was. It had started out with one sip just to be polite, but as the evening progressed one sip had led to another, and after that everything was pretty much a blur. He honestly wasn't even sure how he'd gotten home-if he'd even gotten home at all.
The sudden panic of realizing that he didn't know where he was spurring him on, he forces himself to open his eyes (almost instantly regretting it because even the pale light drifting in through the window was burning like hell) to take stock of his situation. After a few blurry moments, he allows himself to relax. His surroundings were familiar-he was in Fred's room. His boyfriend was asleep next to him, adorably curled up against his side and seeming to be dreaming peacefully. Well, he wasn't going to force him awake to deal with this pain any earlier than he needed to-let him sleep it off as much as he could. Fortunately a bottle of aspirin and two glasses of water were on the bedside table. Tadashi didn't doubt that they'd been left there by Heathcliff, Fred's butler and manservant, probably after he'd helped the two of them in last night. After gratefully downing the pills, Tadashi lies back against the pillows, waiting for the painkillers to kick in and silently vowing that he would never, ever let GoGo get him a drink again. Ever. Part of him was slightly mad at her-how could she go and get him drunk when she knew that was something he always tried to avoid?!-but it wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge against anyone. He told himself that she'd either just wanted him to have a good time or had been looking for a laugh, so he couldn't hold it too much against her. He just knew to avoid getting himself in that same situation ever again. As it was, he was glad that her little prank hadn't seemed to have had any lasting consequences. He and Fred had apparently gotten home safely, and while the fact that they were both naked told him that they'd definitely gotten more than a little frisky last night while under the influence, they'd been having sex for years now while completely sober, so that wasn't anything he was too worried about. His only regret was that he'd apparently been too wasted last night to remember any of it, but it was something he could live with.
As his headache started to abate ever so slightly, Tadashi smiles at the sight of his adorable boyfriend's sleeping form. When awake, Fred was constantly on the move-even when sitting or standing still, some part of him was always moving, his fingers drumming on a surface or foot tapping to whatever song happened to be playing in his head at the time (or possibly some tune completely of his own invention.) It was nice getting to see him so completely relaxed, although even in sleep he tended to fidget slightly, especially right before he woke up, which was right about-now.
Tadashi smiles sympathetically as his boyfriend's eyes flutter open, followed moments later by a low moan of pain.
"Freaking hell-what happened last night?" he groans as he starts to sit up, seeming as disoriented as Tadashi had been when he'd woken up.
"Apparently we both had a little too much to drink," Tadashi says softly, not wanting to startle him.
Despite his best efforts, though, Fred let out a surprised yelp (making both of them flinch), before finally seeming to see him and stammer, "T-Tadashi? How-?"
"I don't know," Tadashi admits, shaking his head and instantly regretting it. Still, he reaches over to the table for the other glass of water and the aspirin, handing them to Fred. "Here, these will help."
"Thanks." His boyfriend gives him a grateful smile before taking the pain meds.
"Damn-last night I must have pushed myself too far over the edge," the fanboy says when he finally finishes drinking the water in the glass. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Not really," Tadashi answers. "Everything's pretty much a blur for me too."
"You?" Fred looks surprised. "But you don't drink!"
"I don't," Tadashi agrees, "but GoGo insisted on buying me a drink and I guess it was a little stronger than I'd expected."
"You too?" Fred's eyes go wide before frowning in concentration. "I-I think I kind of remember that… Maybe that's what happened to me. I usually know my limit, and I was pretty much at it when GoGo kind of forced one more drink on me. I figured it couldn't hurt, but obviously I was wrong."
"Guess she figured it would be amusing to get both of us wasted and see what we'd do," Tadashi sighs.
"Hopefully we didn't do anything too embarrassing," Fred says, lying back against the pillows.
"If we did, you know Hiro will be more than happy to fill us in on all the gory details," Tadashi replies wryly.
"Don't remind me!" Fred groans, covering his face with his hands.
"Well, for now let's just be glad that we're both okay," Tadashi says, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "And let's also promise that we'll never let GoGo buy us a drink again unless we see exactly what goes into it. Deal?"
"Deal," Fred agrees.
"For now-I guess we can just make the most of this and cuddle?" Tadashi suggests.
"Sounds good to me," Fred agrees, smiling as he reaches over to draw the other man to his chest.
Tadashi grins at that, contentedly nuzzling into his boyfriend. Despite the potential for disaster, things seemed to have gone pretty okay, and now he was able to just enjoy some time alone with the man he loved.
He was just reaching up to gently stroke Fred's cheek with his left hand when he suddenly notices the unfamiliar ring on his finger. He pauses, at first confused as his eyes trace over the simple golden band, and then moments later he feels panic beginning to course through his chest. No way-NO. WAY.
"Fred, let me see your hand!" he cries, hoping against hope that he was wrong.
"What?" Fred asks, understandably surprised by the sudden demand.
"Your hand-your left hand-let me see it!" Tadashi answers urgently.
"O-okay," Fred answers, carefully extricating that arm from around his boyfriend and holding it out to him.
"Oh no… Oh, this is so not good…" Tadashi moans when he sees a band matching his own around Fred's ring finger.
"What is it?" Fred asks, looking frustrated at being left in the dark.
"Look!" Tadashi practically shoves his hand into his boyfriend's face.
"What exactly do you want me to look at?" Fred groans, not getting it.
"On my finger-my ring finger!"
"I… It's a ring? When did you get that?"
"Apparently last night! And look at your hand!"
"Um… Okay, apparently I've got one too… Weird…"
Fred stares stupidly at the two rings before finally his eyes go wide as understanding dawns on him. "Oh, holy shit! Did you-Did we…?"
Images come back to Tadashi, flashes and blurs-getting into a taxi outside the club, riding to a small white building that he didn't really recognize, an unfamiliar man in robes standing in front of them-
"I… Oh my gosh, Fred, I think we got married last night," Tadashi whispers in quiet horror.
There were a lot of things he feared might come out of his boyfriend's-husband's?-mouth: anger, fear, disgust. The very last thing he expected was for Fred to hug him to his chest and whisper, "Oh, Dashi… I'm so, so sorry…"
"S-sorry?" Tadashi gasps, stunned. "W-what do you mean 'sorry'? You didn't do anything wrong!"
"Maybe not," Fred admits, his fingers gently beginning to stroke the other man's hair. "If it's anyone's fault, it's GoGo's for getting us both drunk beyond reason last night. I'm just sorry that our wedding… It wasn't the fairytale wedding I always wanted to give you-that you deserved."
"...You just found out that while we were wasted last night we apparently got married, and you're worried about the fact that we didn't have some big, fancy ceremony because you think I'm disappointed?"
"...Yes?"
"...That is both incredibly stupid, and incredibly sweet."
"Sounds like a lot of the stuff I say."
"Pretty much," Tadashi chuckles before forcing himself to relax against Fred, allowing the truth the sink in. "Wow… So, we're, like, married now. Actually married."
"That's about the size of it," Fred agrees, gently cuddling Tadashi closer. They're both silent for a few minutes before the fanboy finally asks, "Do you regret it?"
"Regret it? Well, I mean, I regret the fact that I was so drunk I can't even remember it, but not the
fact that I married you," Tadashi answers after thinking it over for a minute.
"Really?" Fred gives him a hopeful smile.
"Really," Tadashi reassures him.
"I mean, we could technically get an annulment since we were both mentally incapacitated at the time…" Fred says softly.
"No." Tadashi's response comes out a little more forcefully than he'd intended, surprising both of them. "I mean," he says in a quieter voice, "we could-but, unless you do, I really don't want to. You're the love of my life and I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend the rest of it with, so, if it's okay with you-I'd honestly just rather stay married."
"I feel the same way about you, Dashi," Fred says, beaming down at him as he pulls him closer.
"Good." Tadashi grins back up at him.
"Still-this doesn't mean that we can't have another ceremony to do things properly," Fred says thoughtfully after a few more minutes of contented silence. "I mean, not just for us. You know our family and friends will kill us if we don't."
"True," Tadashi agrees with a low chuckle. "Hiro and Aunt Cass especially."
"Definitely," Fred also laughs. "And my parents!"
"Right." Tadashi smiles up at him before glancing back down at their rings. "But, until then, what should we tell everyone?"
"The truth, I guess?" Fred says uncertainly. "If nothing else we could totally get back at GoGo by telling her that thanks to her getting us drunk we did something slightly stupid and potentially dangerous-maybe it'll make her think twice about doing the same thing to anyone else."
"Ooh, I like it!" Tadashi agrees with a slight smile before admitting, "Still… I don't totally feel up to announcing our unexpected nuptials just yet…"
"Neither do I," Fred admits. "How about we just enjoy the peace before the coming storm for as long as we can?"
"Sounds good to me," Tadashi agrees before his stomach starts growling (huh, apparently his nausea had passed) and he gives the other man an embarrassed smile. "Um, could enjoying the peace happen to include breakfast?"
"If that's what my husband wants, then yes, definitely," Fred agrees, lovingly pecking him on the lips and making Tadashi's heart flutter. Husband-that was going to take some getting used to, but in a good way.
A few minutes later Fred had managed to find enough of his clothes to get dressed and he kisses his new husband one last time before heading off to go talk to the cook, Marie, about breakfast. Tadashi, for his part, happily settles back under the covers to wait for his return. Married. He was actually freaking married! It was almost impossible to believe. As badly as the evening could have gone, he knew he was extremely lucky that someone or something had apparently been looking out for them. Still, he was almost grateful that, despite the fact that he intended to stay as far away from alcohol as possible for a very long time, things had turned out the way they had. Married to the man he loved, getting ready to spend the rest of his life with him? How could he have asked for anything more?
