They'd been out places together before. Hundreds of times, especially when they were still in the gang, heading down to the malt shop or the pizza joint or wherever took their fancy (and hadn't recently kicked them out because of Shaggy and Scooby). They'd order the same things to wind each other up and Fred would nick her chips or pasta when she wasn't looking, feign innocence with that grin on his lips that always gave her a little tug in her stomach when directed at her. She'd nick his back and they'd end up giggling together like kids, the rest of the gang sighing at their antics, and nobody cared because that was them. Their friendship was so strong because they acted like two sides of a domino, independent and yet bound, and grinned all the way.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Fred grin like that. Just pure, childish glee. Before the gang broke up, in all probability.
Daphne sighed to herself, turning the shower off and reaching up for the shampoo. Fred used to be so carefree, like a little boy in a sandpit, always looking for the next big adventure and never caring if he didn't find one. Other kids had cried when they'd dropped their ice cream or lost their cuddly toy or come last in a race; not Fred. He'd buy another ice cream, or hold a mock funeral for the cuddly toy, or go and find another race to take part in.
And then that had all changed.
Of course, she didn't really know what had happened with Fred's family. Nobody did, not even the gossip-mongers who huddled together on their porch steps and whispered behind manicured hands. But one day there had been his siblings, running around in their garden screeching at each other, and the next they were gone, and it was just Fred and his mother, clinging to each other in silence as they walked slowly up the garden path, dressed in black, sodden from the rain hammering down all around them.
Turning the shower back on and leaning her head back, Daphne closed her eyes, blotting out thoughts of the past. It had happened, of course, but she couldn't change that, and Fred had survived. She had to focus on the here and now.
A faint smile crossed her lips as she thought of Fred's quiet approach to ask her on this date, his face set in careful lines, the tiny shake of his fingers as he spoke. He was such a confusing man. Risked everything to rescue her when things went wrong, but kept himself so carefully separate from her, never confiding in her about his feelings, never so much as hinting as to his mood or his thoughts. He exasperated her sometimes, with his stubbornness and his determination and his closed-off eyes when he spoke to her- but did he realise what he was doing? That was a whole new piece of the puzzle, whether Fred was conscious of it all. And although it infuriated her, it invigorated her too, and she shuddered despite the piping hot water at the thought of life without her mysterious man, the boy she'd grown up with. He embraced his passion for helping people, and so did she. Two sides of the same domino.
Didn't hurt that he looked good while he was doing it.
Oh stop it, Daphne...
Smiling to herself, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in her fluffy white towel, combing her hair until it hung, straight and dripping, either side of her face. She would find out more soon, it seemed. She hoped.
The silence of it all was suddenly shattered by the ringing of her landline. She groaned, placing the comb back onto the marble countertop beside the sink and dashing into the front room with what little grace she could spare in her current state. Reaching the coffee table where her phone was usually located, she grasped the receiver and placed it to her ear.
"Hello?" As she spoke she glanced out of her apartment window, noticing how dark it was and making a mental note to make dinner sooner rather than later.
"Hey beautiful," in an instant she knew exactly who it was, "how are you?"
Daphne smiled, sinking into the soft cushions of her sofa.
"Well, I just got out of the shower..."
"Tell me all about it." Daphne chuckled to herself, trying to ignore the noticeable shade of red that was now painted across her cheeks.
"In your dreams!"
"Don't worry, it will be,"
"You are shameless!"
"I know, I know..."
She had always enjoyed their phone conversations. It seemed to be one of the only times he ever let himself relax, and it would just be the two of them. No distractions, no stress, just two people who were comfortable with one another and themselves.
"How are you doing?" Eventually, however, one of them would have to bring the conversation back down to earth. Back down to what was keeping them both alive; their jobs.
She heard Fred sigh, whether he meant for her to hear or not.
"Alright. Just the same old routine, really." She hadn't expected a piece of poetry; she never did. But he seemed even less expressive than he normally was.
"Right..." her mind struggled to find something to say. It was incredible how quickly their conversation could go from charismatic and flirtatious to awkward and strenuous, "So there's not been any trouble?"
"Well, I do work in a prison, Daph!" he chuckled, making her smile. If he called her 'Daph', it was always a good sign.
His chuckling ceased as he was reminded of the fact that she was often genuinely worried about him whilst he was working, "...but nothing major, sweetie, don't worry."
"That's good..." her voice trailed off, and he noticed.
"You okay, Daph?" he asked, and she sighed deeply.
"I'm just still a bit upset about today, that's all..."
"Oh! That's exactly why I called you!" His ecstatic response was unexpected, and almost made her jump out of her seat.
"Jesus, Fred! You scared me!" she cried, but he knew she was half joking. He chuckled lightly, the same chuckle that she had loved for as long as she had known him.
"Sorry! I wanted to ask if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow night. I pleaded with my boss and he gave me the night off!" he explained, and suddenly she was smiling.
"Freddie... that's..." she paused, unable to stop grinning like a giddy schoolgirl. What had previously been a rubbish day had now been turned into a great one, "...that's great! You've got it!"
She could tell he was as happy as she was from the tone of his voice.
"Come over to mine at around seven, and we'll take things from there," he said, and she nodded.
"I can't wait, Freddie. See you then!"
"I love you, Daph. Sleep well!"
"I will! Love you too! Bye!" and with that she hung up the phone, leaving it to rest on the coffee table. She almost felt bad for being angry at him earlier on, but none of it mattered anymore. Dashing off to finish sorting her hair, she realised that she hadn't been as happy as she was in a long... long time. All thanks to a certain Fred Jones.
Her Fred Jones.
Guys! I didn't die! Hooray! *non-death party for Hayles45* YAY! ...but seriously, where the front door have I been? Well, my friends, I have been in Writer's Block land. Yes, it is as horrible and frightening as it sounds! But have no fear, I have escaped... for now... :D Mwahahahahha!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, guys, as it really isn't my best work. There's been so much shizzle going on in my life for the past... five months now, and it's been so hard to write things. So I apologise if it wasn't up to standard, but I just felt so bad about not updating everything, and it seems like hardly anyone is writing SD/Fraphne Fanfiction any more... But hopefully there is more coming soon, as the Easter Holidays are coming up and I literally have nothing to do. So yay! Thanks for reading this, and if you liked it please leave me a review and tell me why! It really helps motivate me! Fraphne Forever! (also, thanks to Jazzola for her help with this chapter, and also being a MAHOOSIVE help to me in recent months. You're such a good friend, and sorry for not being there to talk for a while. Stuff just gets in the way, you know?)