There is one sure fire way to be sure that your feelings for someone aren't purely lust, and that is by watching them wake up first thing in the morning. It didn't count if it was waking up from a nap or in the middle of the night. It had to be in the morning after a regular night's rest. That's when you find out who people really are.

If it was just lust Fred was feeling, then he would probably have been a little put off by first-thing-in-the-morning-Tadashi. He could list off all the things he imagined would turn off other people.

First of all, he had some serious bed head going on. It was painfully obvious he'd been sleeping on his right side since the hair on that side was pushed up into an odd looking half fohawk. If that wasn't enough he had pillow indentations engraved into his face. Not only that, Tadashi dragged himself around like someone had just pulled him out of his grave and he was only partially alive.

Yeah, none of that should have been cute at all, but here he was, smitten as ever.

He found himself longing to brush his hands through that ridiculous looking hair, to trace all those silly marks on his face, to wrap the other in his arms and pepper him with soft kisses...

God, being in unrequited love sucked.

It absolutely did not help that Tadashi apparently decided sometime last night that the pajama pants he'd lent him were unnecessary, and was instead wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and what Fred called his "happy sweater".

That was another thing to add to the list of things he should not find as attractive as he did. That sweater was hideous. It was covered in yellow smiley faces that looked like they had flooded out from early 2000's Wal-Mart logos, was 2 sizes too big on Fred, had holes worn out at the wrists where he stuck his thumbs through, and had a massive brown stain on the front where he'd spilled takeout on it a few years ago. He only wore it when he expected exactly zero people to see him in it, while he was curled up in bed binge watching Netflix.

Tadashi had no right to look so adorable in it.

In fact, he was embarrassed his friend even knew it existed. When he'd been looking though his closet for something for Tadashi to wear however, the other had stopped him to pull out the aforementioned monstrosity. He'd tried to snatch it back, explaining that Tadashi by no means had to wear something so gross, but to no avail. The raven haired man simply grinned before dashing away with the sweater and the pajama pants he'd already been given, locking himself into the bathroom.

It hadn't even been a day, but Tadashi was already doing bad things for his health. He was going to die of heart failure within the next ten hours if he didn't stop being so cute. And if he didn't put some pants on for fuck's sake. There was way too much exposed skin to distract Fred with.

"Want some coffee, buddy? It's nothing special, but it is fresh," he said to the half asleep man in front of him.

He got a gurgled reply that sounded something like an affirmation, so he poured some into a mug and slid it across the small table to his friend. It took about 7 seconds for Tadashi to chug the whole thing.

"Whoa. Okay, here. Have some more," he said, pouring more into the other's mug.

The second one was drunk at a much more sedate pace. He still ended up refilling his mug one more time.

"Y'know, I'm not sure why, but I always pictured you being more of a morning person. You just seem so put together the rest of the time. Now I see that you've been fooling us all along. You must have some sort of clone that you suck all the life out of to stay so on top of it."

Tadashi snorted into his mug. He peered over the rim to meet Fred's gaze, eyes crinkling at the corners. Given the number of years they had known each other, this shouldn't have made his heart stutter in his chest the way it did. Lord almighty, he should put 911 on speed dial for this guy's stay. There was a very large chance he'd need it.

"So...got any plans for the day?" he asked, trying to appear more nonchalant than he felt.

"Mmm. I have to go...somewhere...at, uh...sometime," the other mumbled. He still wasn't quite awake yet. Maybe he needed more coffee.

"Okay... Do you remember if this is a soon sometime or a later sometime?"

There was a long silence while Tadashi thought it over.

"It's... What time is it now?" he asked, tilting his head to the side quizzically. Damn him for being so adorable. And damn his hormones for not leaving him alone.

"It's almost 9 o'clock."

"It's later...I think..." Fred wondered if the people expecting his friend knew he was so incredibly useless in the morning. Hopefully they did, otherwise things could get awkward.

"Hang on, I have...something...in phone..." Tadashi mumbled before getting up and shuffling away. And no, he absolutely did not stare at his friend's incredibly attractive backside. Those boxers did not show off his ass at all. He totally didn't look.

When the other stumbled back over to the counter he resolutely refused to look anywhere besides his face. This frankly, wasn't helping his raging schoolgirl crush because Tadashi was so damn handsome.

Wordlessly, his friend handed his phone over to him before returning to the stool he'd been sitting on and nursing his third cup of coffee. He raised a brow at the other, unsure what it was he was supposed to be doing.

"Calendar," was the only reply he got.

He followed his short but effective instructions and opened up Tadashi's calendar to the current day. It read: Convention prep 1:00. Convention starts 3:00.

"Alright, so we've got plenty of time until then. I usually don't open the bar 'til 11, so if you wanna hang out until then, I'm up for anything. Or if you want to hang out a little longer that's okay too. The guys can handle it if I open up later than usual." And by "handle" he meant they would only be moderately pissed they had to wait for their booze. And by "moderately pissed" he meant there would only be a few bodies littering the sidewalk when he got back. Was it obvious that he was super desperate for his best friend? Thank goodness Tadashi was so oblivious. If he didn't die of the cuteness he'd die from the embarrassment.

"M'kay. Sounds good," said the object of all his inappropriate desires.

"Alrighty then. Want to go get something to eat? I'd offer to make something, but according to Wade my cooking could kill a zombie more effectively than a bullet to the head. So..." he trailed off to the sound of Tadashi's tinkling laughter.

"Well, it would be a shame if I died before the convention, so going out sounds fine," Tadashi smiled brightly at him, and it warmed him straight down to his toes.

He was so caught up in how warm and fuzzy he felt he almost didn't notice his friend bee-lining it for the door. Fortunately for the both of them, he managed to snap out of it in time to slam the door shut before the other walked downstairs and out in public.

"Whoa there, pal. You look cute and all, but I'm feeling like you might want to put some clothes on first," he blurted out, steering him away from the door and towards his room. It took exactly 2.6 seconds before he realized what he'd said and turned as red as a tomato.

Please, God, if you exist, do not let him be awake enough to have caught that, he begged silently.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Clothes," Tadashi repeated, letting the other lead him through the apartment. He didn't seem to notice Fred's slip up- probably thought he was just kidding.

"I dunno if I want to eat these maple walnut pancakes more or this banana strawberry French toast. What do you think, man?" he asked, looking across the small table to his companion.

It was almost uncanny how Tadashi seemed to illuminate whatever room he occupied. They were sitting at a plain two person table in IHOP, and he still managed to look breathtaking. The sun shone through the window next to them at just the right angle to highlight his features like some ethereal being that came to grace the rest of the planet with his presence. It wasn't even some bright sunny day. It was fucking cloudy, like it was going to start pouring rain, and yet the clouds themselves parted to let this picturesque moment exist. Fucking mother nature was even on Tadashi's side.

"Ooo, those both sound really good. That's a hard choice..." Tadashi's voice broke him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

He pondered over it for another minute before replying, "Tell you what, how about I get the pancakes, and you get the French toast. Then you and I can split them, so we both get to taste how great they are." He smiled sunnily at Fred.

Okay Fred, sharing food was a totally normal friend thing, so don't over think it. It doesn't mean anything. Just remain calm.

"Fred?"

"Oh, yeah, that sounds great, yeah, good idea," he rambled, the words spilling out much too quickly.

"Great," Tadashi said, smiling brightly. He was slowly but surely becoming more like his usual organized self. Except for the clothes he borrowed from Fred, he looked as he always did: calm and collected.

The clothes didn't change much of his appearance. Fred had decided simple was best and stuck Tadashi in a plain blue t-shirt and jeans, as well as a simple black hoodie that was only a little too big on him. He looked good. Well, he always looked good, but Fred thought he looked especially appealing in his clothes. Far too appealing, actually. He thought Hiro was joking when he told him to imagine Tadashi wearing his clothes, but clearly the little bastard had it out for him. The whole experience was nearly coma-inducing.

He let Tadashi order for both of them when the waitress returned while he started texting their San Fransokyo friends furiously.

To: SF Buddies - 1

-I cannot fucking believe I let you guys do this to me. You're all demons, and I can't believe I let you drag me into unrequited crush hell.

From: Sweet as Honey Lemon

-Awwww Freddy don't be like that :(((((

-We just want what's best 4 u

From: Gogomobile

-yeah dont be such an ass

-woman up

From: Hiro more like Zero

-Did you even ask him out yet?

To: SF Buddies - 1

-No I didn't fucking ask him out yet wtf it hasn't even been a day are you crazy

From: Hiro

-Then I don't see why youre freaking out

-chill

"Here's your water. Are you sure you don't need anything else?" the waitress asked, smiling politely at Tadashi.

"None for me thanks. You want anything else Fred?" Tadashi asked.

"Uh, nothing for me either, thanks," he replied to the waitress before turning his attention back to his phone.

To: SF Buddies - 1

-I'm freaking out cuz you're brother apparently likes walking around in his underwear first thing in the morning. Some warning would've been nice!

From: Gogomobile

-wait seriously?

-please tell me u took a pic

-I need physical proof

To: SF Buddies - 1

-Yes! Save me

-I'm not gonna make it

From: Hiro more like Zero

-lol yeaaa he does that a lot

-I kinda thought you'd have jumped his bones after seeing that.

-For real tho, what's taking you so long?

-I served him up on a platter for you!

From: WasaBYE

-Why are we all talking about this? The plane's about to take off! You should have turned off your cell phones by now! It's the rules!

From: Hiro more like Zero

-Well you haven't turned yours off either yet

From: Sweet as Honey Lemon

-Wasabi it's fine we'll turn them off in a minute

-don't worry so much :)

From: Gogomobile

-yeah quit bein such a square

-you better not chicken out on the plan

To: SF Buddies - 1

-Plan? What plan?

-You guys

-I s2g you better tell me what's going on

From: Sweet as Honey Lemon

-sorry Freddy the planes taking off!

-ttyl! :)

Fred groaned loudly, letting his head fall to rest on the table. He needed new friends. Preferably ones that didn't meddle with his nonexistent love life.

He startled when his screen lit up with a new text. Was someone actually going to give in and tell him what was going on?

From: Tadashi HamaDAMN

-lol u ok? U seem a little...

He looked up sheepishly at his friend. He sort of forgot that Tadashi was there with him. Oops.

"Sorry," he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck," I was just talking to the rest of the gang. I think they're planning trouble."

Tadashi laughed. "Well, that does sound like them. Should I give them a stern talking to?"

"Nah, their plane just took off. They won't be answering anything for a few hours."

"Ah well, too bad. Guess you're just stuck talking to me then," Tadashi winked at him. He fucking winked.

"Yeah, guess so..." He sincerely hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt.

They chatted amicably until their food arrived, and during that time Fred was thankfully spared from anymore awkward blushing.

That was changed very quickly by the pornographic sounds Tadashi made while eating.

He was literally moaning into his food. Moaning. He had his eyes closed and everything, like he was experiencing true ecstasy.

"Dude, you have to try these pancakes, like right now, they are so amazing," Tadashi said, cutting said pancakes in half and shoving them unceremoniously onto Fred's already full plate.

"Um, ok. You want me to split up this French toast first?" he asked, trying not to act as flustered as he felt. He was still a little shell shocked. He hadn't even tried his French toast yet because he'd been too busy staring at his best friend. His intended first bite was still on his fork, dangling over his plate.

Tadashi leaned across the table and ate the piece of French toast off Fred's fork.

"Nope, pancakes first. Mmm, this really good too," Tadashi nodded in approval at him.

Dear lord, Tadashi just ate off his fork. The fork he was about to eat off of. That was like an indirect kiss kind of thing, wasn't it? For fuck's sake, he really was a middle schooler wasn't he? Indirect kisses, someone shoot him.

He struggled through the rest of the meal, trying in vain to ignore the obscene noises coming from the man across the table. He was stuck somewhere between heaven and hell.

At least the food was delicious.