Tadashi was still grinning when he got home. Tonight had been nothing short of amazing, especially considering how the day had started. Getting ready for the day while trying to hide a tattoo in an extremely visible spot without making it obvious that you were hiding it was definitely a challenge-considering he hardly ever wore scarfs, he got the feeling his family was starting to suspect that something was up given the fact that he'd been wearing the two he actually owned every day for the past two weeks, even when inside. He'd tried to pass it off as just trying out a new look, but he was pretty sure they weren't buying it (although Hiro couldn't resist making jokes about how he was just acting gayer than usual.)

Well, after tonight he could ditch the scarves because he finally knew for sure that his love was requited-Fred had his tattoo too, so it was official. It wasn't definite that two people were absolutely meant for each other when they got each other's tattoos, but Tadashi was old fashioned enough to hope that maybe that's what this meant for him and the cute guy he'd met three months ago in his intro to robotics class. And, considering they were finally officially a couple, he didn't mind letting his family see the tattoo-if anything, he was proud to let the entire world see that he was in love!

He wasn't sure exactly how his family would take the news (especially Aunt Cass since he hadn't officially come out to her yet) but he could only hope for the best. Even if they weren't fully in love with the idea, it wouldn't change anything-he'd still want to be with Fred. But he could only hope that they'd be happy for him and be able to share his joy. Even if they didn't, the evening had been so amazing that he was floating on cloud nine and he didn't think he'd be able to bring himself to care even if he did meet with disapproval. Fred had insisted on taking him out to dinner at a family owned Mexican restaurant near the university that made the most amazing tacos he had ever tasted. Then they ended up heading to Pier 39 to just stroll and see the sights before heading to Ghirardelli Square for dessert. The evening in a word? Magical. It was everything he'd ever hoped a first date would be and more.

Still, as much fun as it had been, Tadashi wasn't usually allowed to stay out too late without checking with his aunt first (although she'd become accustomed to his hanging out with the person he described as "a friend" after class on Fridays), and given he did have a morning shift at the cafe he knew that he was already pushing things by staying out this long. He drove Fred back to his house (it was still slightly insane to him that his best friend and now boyfriend actually lived in a mansion-the fanboy certainly didn't act entitled, if anything he was ridiculously generous, and after finding out that Fred had suffered the loss of several friendships involving people either trying to take advantage of him or thinking the worst of him just because he came from a rich family, Tadashi was extremely humbled that he'd chosen to trust him.) Then he'd driven back to the cafe, where he was now.

Grinning in anticipation, he parks his motor scooter in the alleyway behind the house before heading around to the front to come in through the cafe entrance. Usually he would have gone through the side door leading into the main house, but he was too excited (and, admittedly, nervous) to have to wait for his aunt to close the shop and come upstairs before showing her the tattoo. Not that he was going to outright tell her at first-it was usually more fun, from what he'd seen with others, to wait and let others spot the tattoo for themselves. Sure he'd been super excited when, as a kid, Hiro's tattoo had appeared on him, and he'd immediately gone to show his baby brother the mark. But a family tattoo was a lot different than a romantic one and he wanted to make this reveal perfect.

"Tadashi!" Aunt Cass looks up from the counter at the sound of the chimes over the door ringing and smiles, seeming slightly relieved, when she sees her eldest nephew walking in. "I was wondering where you'd gotten off to! I figured you were with your friend since it's a Friday, but I wish you'd call me if you were planning on staying out this late…"

"Sorry, Aunt Cass," Tadashi apologizes, coming over to hug her. "We got… Kind of distracted and lost track of time."

"Distracted?" Aunt Cass raises a curious eyebrow even as she hugs him back.

Instead of answering directly, Tadashi pulls away slightly, waiting to see if she'd notice the new mark. At first she doesn't seem to understand, but then her eyes finally settle on the blue dragon encircling his neck and her eyes go wide.

"O-Oh my gosh! T-Tadashi, is that-?"

"Yep," Tadashi agrees, his cheeks flushing pink but smiling proudly all the same.

"Oh, sweetie!" Aunt Cass pulls him in for another hug, this one even more enthusiastic than the last. "Your first tattoo! Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! You have to tell me all about her! What's her name?"

"A-Actually," Tadashi answers, feeling a bit of nervousness creeping up inside of his chest in spite of himself, "his name is Fred."

"Fred?" Aunt Cass looks momentarily surprised. "He's a boy?"

"Y-Yeah," Tadashi agrees, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-Is that okay?"

"Oh, honey, of course it's okay!" Aunt Cass seems to shake off her momentary shock and leans up to gently but firmly peck him on the cheek. "I'm a bit surprised, but of course I'm okay with it! The fact that you have his mark is a clear sign that you love him, and as long as you're happy, that's all I care about."

"Really?" Tadashi flashes her a grateful smile.

"Really," Aunt Cass reassures him, gently squeezing his hands before asking with a slight smile, "So, is he cute?"

"Very," Tadashi chuckles, relieved that she was taking this all so well.

"I'm guessing he's the 'friend' you've been hanging out with after class?"

"Yeah, he is. But I didn't know until tonight that he actually felt the same way-honestly, I was afraid to show him that I had his tattoo until I saw that he actually had mine too."

"Oh my goodness, he has your tattoo too? Sweetheart, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you-for both of you!"

"Thanks!" Tadashi grins at her. "I mean, we just started officially dating, so I don't know how serious it is, but…."

"If you have each other's tattoos, that's a good sign," Aunt Cass says with a warm smile. "Still, I know that you don't want too much pressure on your relationship right now, so I won't ask you any more questions unless you're comfortable with it, okay?"

"Thank you." Tadashi flashes her a relieved smile. "Y-You've been so amazing about all of this…"

"Of course, sweetie." Aunt Cass beams back at him before asking, "So, have you told Hiro yet?"

"No, not exactly…" Tadashi answers, his mood dimming slightly. "I mean, I'm not sure how he's going to react…"
"To you being in a relationship with another guy?" Aunt Cass asks gently.

"No, trust me, he knows about me being gay," Tadashi replies wryly, only to think to add, "N-Not that I told him and didn't tell you! I haven't really told anyone yet but he kind of figured it out on his own…"

"It's okay, I'm not offended," Aunt Cass reassures him. "Coming out is a pretty big deal, so I understand why you'd want to keep it to yourself to begin with."

"Thanks…" Tadashi almost couldn't believe how amazingly understanding his aunt was being.

"So, if you're not worried about him finding out about you being gay-what are you worried about?" Aunt Cass asks curiously.

"I… Well, I'm more worried about how he'll react to me being in a relationship, period. You know how he's been getting recently with the bullies at school and everything… He's been getting so withdrawn, I'm just worried about what will happen if he thinks I'm prioritizing someone else over him…"

"Tadashi, you are an amazing nii-chan to your little brother-you've always done so much for him and taken care of him," Aunt Cass answers firmly. "There's no way that he doesn't know how much you love him and there's no way that your love for him could even go away just because you're sharing your heart with someone new. And if he is upset at first, well, that's his decision, but you can't let someone else control your life. He'll come around to it eventually, especially if you keep showing him that he's as important to you as he's always been."

"You really think so?" Tadashi asks hopefully.

"I know so," Aunt Cass replies, gently pushing him towards the stairs leading up into the main house. "Now go upstairs and show him that you care enough to be honest with him about something amazing that's happening in your life!"

"I will," Tadashi chuckles before flashing her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Aunt Cass. You're the best aunt any nephew could ever ask for."

"And I could never be prouder to have you two as my nephews," Aunt Cass answers before firmly directing him back up the stairs.

"Hiro? Hiro, are you up here?" Tadashi asks once he reaches the top of the second set of stairs leading into the attic bedroom he shared with his little brother.

"Yeah, over here."

Tadashi spots his younger sibling sitting as his desk and fiddling with a small black robot. The older boy does his best not to wince-he still wasn't sure how his otouto had gotten pulled into the world of bot fighting and he'd definitely made it clear to him that he didn't approve of his illegal activities. Still, Hiro wasn't budging any more than he was on the matter, and tonight he had more things to worry about than the back alley robot battles.

"C-Can we talk?" Tadashi asks gently, sitting down on the edge of the younger boy's bed.

"Sure," Hiro answers with a small shrug, putting his robot down before turning towards his older sibling. "What's up?"

"I… Um, there's something I need to tell you," Tadashi replies quietly. "And I'm not sure how you're going to take it, but-"

"Is it about the tattoo?" Hiro says, cutting him off. "Because if that's what this is about, I've known about it for weeks."

"Y-You have?" Tadashi wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing but he was hoping for the best.

"Totally. I mean, I saw it when you woke up that first morning with it and started freaking out, and then the way you were suddenly wearing scarves in the middle of October? Not exactly subtle, bro," Hiro answers with a tiny smirk.

"Excuse me for not having much experience with hiding a very visible tattoo!" Tadashi counters although he couldn't help but smile slightly. Still, he sobers as he asks gently, "So… How are you doing with all of this? I mean, I know you might not be the biggest fan of the idea of me having a boyfriend…"

"It took a bit of getting used to," Hiro admits, idly playing with a loose thread on the cushion of the chair he was sitting on. "But I kind of figured that's where you guys were headed the minute you came home from that first class and I saw that ridiculous grin on your face. If anything, after you got the tattoo, if I'd found out that the other guy turned you down I was going to go track him down and make him regret it."

"H-Hiro!" Tadashi protests, eyes going wide before smiling slightly and adding, "It's sweet that you care that much…"

"Of course I do. You're my nii-chan and you might be a total nerd but I'm going to make sure that no jerk breaks your heart," Hiro answers firmly.

"Y-You're really okay with this, aren't you?" Tadashi asks, a tentative grin crossing his face.

"As long as you're happy, of course I am!" Hiro answers. "Just don't forget me, okay?"

"I promise I will designate at least one night of the week as 'bro night' so that we make sure that we have time for hanging out and watching superhero movies and inventing stuff," Tadashi promises, reaching over to pull his younger sibling into a tight hug. "I love you so much, little bro…"

"I love you too," Hiro answers, willing to not act like a snarky teenager for long enough to hug his older brother before pulling away and asking, "So, when do I get to meet this mystery guy? Are you guys going to have an official party or what?"

"I-We haven't gotten that far in planning," Tadashi admits. "First I wanted to talk to all of you guys about my dating him in the first place and he still has to talk to his family. Once we know for sure that everyone's okay with it, then we might start talking about having the party. That is, if his family actually does that-I don't know if they do considering they're kind of considered 'old fashioned' nowadays…"

"But you know Aunt Cass will insist on throwing one anyways," Hiro points out with a tiny smirk. "I mean, especially if you two both have each other's tattoos-you guys both have each other's tattoos, right?"

"We do," Tadashi confirms.

"Okay then, it's settled," Hiro chuckles. "All you can do is try to keep it from being more embarrassing than it has to be-although, of course, you know I'll try to make sure that it's as embarrassing as possible!"

"Knucklehead." Tadashi playfully tousles the younger boy's hair before asking, "So, how do you feel about starting our bro night tradition early? I know I can't stay up too late because I've got a morning shift, but if you wanted to head out to the garage and watch a movie or two…"
"Can it be the first Avengers?" Hiro asks hopefully.

"It could," Tadashi answers with a warm smile.

"Sick! Yes, I am totally in!" Hiro declares.

"All right then!" Tadashi chuckles as he stands up from the bed. "Let's go!"

A couple hours later, as the credits were rolling and both brothers were snuggled up on the couch, almost about to drift off (Tadashi was a major cuddler and Hiro was too even though he vehemently denied it), suddenly the elder Hamada's phone starts going off.

"Answer it!" Hiro mumbles sleepily even as the older boy debates just letting it go to voicemail-he didn't want to ruin his time with his little brother by taking a phone call.

"You sure?" Tadashi asks, just for confirmation.

"Answer it or hang up, just make it shut up!" Hiro quietly groans.

"Okay, okay." Tadashi chuckles before finally hitting the "talk" button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dashi? It's me, Fred! Sorry, I didn't know if you were still up or not, is this too late?"

"No, it's fine," Tadashi answers, feeling slightly more alert. "What's up?"

"Well… Did you realize that today is October 11?"

"...Yes?" Was Fred really calling him just to ask about the date?

"Okay, well, it's kind of ironic because it's 'National Coming Out Day' and I just kind of officially came out to my parents…"

"Oh my gosh!" Tadashi's eyes go wide and he sits up a bit straighter. "H-How did it go?"

"It went… Well, not great, not terrible," Fred sighs. "I mean… My mom kind of freaked out. I definitely don't think she's on board with me being gay, she kept throwing stuff at me about how I just hadn't met the right girl, that if I started a relationship with a guy I'd regret it someday when I couldn't have kids-fuck that, she's the one who wants the grandkids, not me."

"Fred, I'm so sorry," Tadashi says softly, his heart breaking for the other man. "A-Are you all right? I mean, I know you're probably totally still majorly hurting from that, but do you need a place to stay for the night, or-?"

"Fortunately my dad came to my rescue, which was kind of surprising," Fred answers, and Tadashi could almost hear the slight smile in his voice. "He said that if we had each other's tattoos then that meant we really care about each other and he wasn't going to get in the way of that. I don't think he's the world's biggest fan of me being gay, but at least he's willing to respect that and he didn't let my mom try to force me to leave, which is good."

"That definitely is good," Tadashi agrees, a bit of relief leaking into his chest. "Still, do you think you'll feel safe staying there with the way your mom is being?"

"My parents are hardly ever home anyways," Fred answers with a tiny shrug. "It was kind of a fluke that they were actually home tonight, they're flying out first thing tomorrow morning so I won't have to worry about them for a good long while."

"I'm glad that you'll be safe, at least," Tadashi sighs, cradling the phone close to his face and wishing that he could hug his boyfriend through its screen. "I'm just sorry that they're not being more accepting…"

"Meh, stuff happens, I'm kind of used to them being pretty intolerant of me and my life anyways," Fred answer in a tone that obviously said he didn't want to talk about it. Then he suddenly seems to remember who he was talking to and asks, "Oh, hey, what about you? Did you talk to your family yet, or…?"

"Yep," Tadashi agrees, unable to keep a smile off of his face. "And they're totally cool with it! Actually, Hiro's already joking about Aunt Cass wanting to host the party, although the sad thing is she's probably already planning it..."

"...Party?" Fred says uncertainly. "I think you lost me there, love."

"Oh, um… I guess your family doesn't do that, huh?" Tadashi mumbles, blushing slightly. "Look, if you don't want to do it, that's totally fine, we don't have to-"

"I'm not saying that I don't want to do it," Fred answers, sounding slightly amused. "I just need some sort of explanation about what it is that you're talking about!"

"Okay, well… I-It's kind of embarrassing," Tadashi says with a wry smile. "But, um… I-In my family, at least, when someone gets a mutual tattoo with someone else, usually there's a party-not anything big or fancy, just something where family and friends of the couple all get together, sort of to wish them luck and also so that they all have a get a chance to meet all the important people in the couple's lives and possibly the member of the couple that they might not have met yet."

"Huh…" Fred says slowly. "That's actually a really cute tradition, and kind of a smart one too! I mean, that way everyone gets to know each other and the couple knows who they have that will support them, right?"

"Right!" Tadashi agrees, trying not to sound too eager. "Although, I mean, I know that we just started dating so this might be a bit fast for you…"

"Hm… How about a compromise?" Fred asks after a moment of silence in which he was thinking over his boyfriend's words.

"What kind of compromise?" Tadashi asks curiously.

"We give dating a try for a month," Fred answers. "I mean, the tattoos must mean that we're pretty serious about each other, but all the same it might not be a bad idea for us to get the enjoy some time just being a couple without all the outside pressure. If we're still going strong after a month, then we let your aunt throw us as fabulous of a party as she wants-everyone's happy that way. Sound good?"

"That actually sounds amazing," Tadashi replies, unable to keep from grinning. "You're amazing-you know that, right?"

"I try my best," Fred chuckles before saying, "It's getting pretty late, I'd probably better let you go-you said you have work in the morning, right?"

"Right," Tadashi agrees, just how tired he actually was suddenly hitting him. "And then I have a report to type up in the afternoon…"

"I do not envy you," Fred says sympathetically. "How would me taking you out for the evening once you're done sound to help make up for it?"

"That… Would honestly be amazing," Tadashi admits with a warm smile. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Why would I mind getting to go out on a date with my amazing boyfriend?"
"Point taken," Tadashi chuckles. "Well then, I guess I'd better get some sleep so I can be awake to go on that date with my amazing boyfriend!"

"I can't wait," Fred answers, and Tadashi can tell that he's grinning even if he can't see him.

"I love you," Tadashi whispers, trying out the new words and finding that they fit perfectly in his mouth.

"Love you too, Dashi," Fred tells him, and it was enough to send a whole flurry of butterflies right through the other man's chest.

"I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" Tadashi manages to get out.

"Tomorrow," Fred agrees before finally hanging up.

Tadashi happily flops back down onto the couch, not minding that Hiro had curled up against him in his sleep. He was in love with someone, and that person was actually in love with him too. As much as it was too early to say how exactly things would work out, he had a very, very good feeling about all of this. And, as he drifts off to sleep, he couldn't help but have a smile on his lips as he imagines what the future might hold for them.