"Fred, I can't do this!"
"Tadashi, yes, you can."
"No, I can't!"
"Sweetheart, it's just one kiss-and it doesn't even have to be on the lips, it can be on the cheek!"
"But a kiss is a kiss, and I can't kiss someone when I'm in love with someone else!"
"It's just acting-actors kiss people that they're not in love with all the time, don't they?"
"I-I guess so...:"
"And if you're worried that I'll be upset or something, I won't-I'm giving you full and complete permission to kiss Honey Lemon as many times as you need to for the sake of making the movie!"
"That doesn't make me feel completely better…"
"Think of it this way, then-the sooner you get the kiss scenes with Honey Lemon over, the sooner we can finish making the movie, and the sooner we finish making this movie, the sooner we'll be free of this whole mess and we can enjoy having our freedom!"
"That does sound nice…" Tadashi admits with a tentative smile.
"See?" Fred smiles and gently squeezes his hand. "Now you get out there and do this scene, okay?"
"Okay," Tadashi agrees, feeling full of determination now. Still, before heading out onto the set, he quickly kisses Fred's cheek one last time. "When I'm having to kiss her, know that you're the only one I'll be thinking of," he whispers softly.
"Thank you." Fred smiles and gently pecks him back before adding playfully, "Just don't think about me too hard or else you might end up accidentally kissing her a little too good!"
"Understood!" Tadashi laughs before finally walking out into the Nerd Lab set.
"There you are!" the director says, looking relieved when he spots Tadashi. "We were wondering where you'd gotten off to! Is everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah!" Tadashi answers, forcing the best smile that he can manage onto his face. "Sorry, I just… Was getting prepared for the scene!"
"Of course." The director chuckles at that. "Pretty excited to be kissing your girlfriend in front of the camera, huh? Just remember that this is a kids movie so try to keep it from getting too hot and heavy, okay?"
"Okay…" Tadashi agrees, trying not to grimace-ugh, the longer he dated Fred, the more he knew that he never wanted to kiss a girl. Ever. Or anyone outside of Fred, for that matter, but that was kind of a given.
"All right, places, everyone!" the director calls and everyone starts moving into position.
The scene involved Tadashi introducing Hiro to all of the characters in the Nerd Lab and so the first part was pretty fun-in fact, he was able to lose himself in the scene and forget what was supposed to happen until Honey Lemon came racing past with her giant ball of tungsten carbide. He braces himself, knowing what was going to happen-Honey Lemon calling out a greeting to him and then, before she "noticed" Hiro, they were supposed to kiss. They'd already discussed this-Honey Lemon didn't seem to mind the kiss since they knew that they were just friends, and had even offered to practice with him before the scene (something he'd politely declined, partly because he didn't want to have to do it more than was strictly speaking necessary and partly because he could tell from the way that GoGo was looking at him that she would have snapped his neck if he had agreed. Not that it would have killed him-toons couldn't really "die"-but it would have hurt like hell.) Now the moment was here, though, and he found himself freezing, barely managing to squeak out a "hello" to her. Honey Lemon lodged her ball into place and then came around to the other side, grinning expectantly at him-the perfect little actress that she was, she was managing to look happy about this! Tadashi hesitated one more moment, hoping that some Deus Ex Machina might save him, but the film crew and director were all staring expectantly at him, so he gritted his teeth and leaned in, closing his eyes and trying to imagine Fred. before chastely pecking Honey Lemon's lips before quickly pulling away. Okay, he'd done it! He felt his shoulders sag with relief. That was over so now it should be smooth sailing-
"CUT!"
He feels his body go rigid as the director's voice rings out across the set. What was the matter now?
"What was that?" the director cries as he comes over to them. "Tadashi, I told you to keep it PG, but you can show at least a little passion! You were acting like you didn't want to kiss her at all!"
"I don't want to kiss her!" The words slip out before Tadashi can stop them.
"Don't want to kiss her? You're kidding me, right?" The director looks at him like he's expecting the punchline to a joke.
Across the set, he can see Fred staring him, shaking his head vigorously "no". Hiro, GoGo, and Honey Lemon were watching him anxiously, all seeming to be holding their breath. Tadashi knew that it would be easier to just keep his mouth shut, redo the scene with a proper kiss, and move on with no one the wiser. But if there was one part of his character design that had actually stuck with him, it was that he couldn't keep silent about something he thought was wrong, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to do the right thing, whether it was running into a burning building to save his professor or speaking his mind when someone was trying to get him to do something he thought was wrong with everything fiber of his being.
"I don't want to kiss Honey Lemon because I don't love her!"
There was dead silence on the set for a full minute before the director lets out an uncomfortable chuckle. "You're joking, right? Tell me this is a joke. Of course you love Honey Lemon-it's in your design! That's the way we made you!"
"I know that's how my character was designed, and I swear that I tried to love her, but I just can't!" Tadashi answers. "I can't force something that I don't feel!"
"Maybe if you gave it more time-" the director starts to say.
"I gave it time, and it didn't work! And I know I can never love her because… I'm in love with someone else!"
There was another dead silence, and Tadashi could see Fred looking a combination of very afraid and also extremely proud of him.
"In love with… Someone else?" the director finally manages to say, frowning deeply. "Well… All right, this happens sometimes. I know that not all of the writers were fully on board with you having a romance with Honey Lemon, so maybe some of that made it through into your character. This could put us a bit behind schedule, but I suppose we could rewrite you scenes so that we can work with you and GoGo-"
"What?" Tadashi's eyes go wide. "No, I'm not in love with GoGo!"
"Then who else could you be in love with? There aren't any other available girl characters in this movie except Abigail-Oh, now that could be an interesting plot twist, we can work with this…"
"NO!" Tadashi groans in frustration. "I'm not in love with any of them, I'm in love with Fred!"
There's yet another extended silence as the entire crew seem to be looking between Tadashi and Fred in complete and utter shock.
"Tadashi," the director finally says, his tone patronizing with just a hint of something darker behind it, "I think you're confused. I can see why you might be interested in one of the other female members of your cast, but Fred… Disney doesn't create gay characters. Maybe someday, but right now you must understand that our audiences aren't ready for that sort of thing-"
"Well maybe it's time Disney took a stand instead of worrying about what the audiences thought!" Tadashi fires back. "Does the company really want to be held back by fear when they could be leading the way to bringing more acceptance for a persecuted community and providing positive role models for those who need them?"
"I have nothing against the gay community personally, and I appreciate your sentiments, but this is something we cannot allow at this time," the director answers, frowning to the point of almost scowling. "It's a risk that we cannot take, and you would do well to remember that it is the humans, not the toons who make these decisions. And there are consequences for toons who don't remember their places and try to go too far off book."
Tadashi flinches at the subtle threat, but he's not about to back down now. "I'm not asking for you to allow me and Fred to kiss on screen or in any way to even appear like a couple!" he says. "All I'm asking is that you don't force me to act like I'm in love with someone I'm not on screen!"
"He has a good point," a woman near the director's chair who Tadashi thought he recognized as one of the artists says thoughtfully.
"If I wanted your opinion, I would have asked for it!" the director snaps, glaring over at her.
"No, just listen!" the woman answers, coming over. "You said it yourself-not everyone was on board with the Tadashi/Honey Lemon romance. So how about this-we play all of the relationships off platonically. That way the audience can choose their couples, if they choose to pair any of the couples at all! This movie isn't primarily about a romance like a lot of our other films-it's about family and coping with loss. If anything, putting a romance in might distract from the story we're trying to get across!".
The director, though obviously still angry about having his authority questioned, seems to be considering the woman's words. "You may have a point," he finally agrees begrudgingly, letting out a quiet sigh. "All right, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to talk to the story writers and see what the have to say. If they agree to this-and that is a big 'if'-then we'll drop the romance angle and focus on the sibling relationships that this story is mainly focused on."
"Thank you!" Tadashi cries, feeling relief flood his chest. "You have no idea how much this-"
"I said 'IF'," the director snarls, turning back to him. "If they don't agree, we continue with the storyline involving your romance with Honey Lemon, or whoever else they decide to pair you with, capiche?"
"Y-Yes sir," Tadashi agrees more quietly, deciding not to push his luck.
"And I don't care what you do whenever you're back in your little Toon Town-Looney Toon… community, but while you are in the public eye, you are not allowed to give ANY indication that you are in a homosexual relationship, is that understood?" the director continues.
"That's...Fair enough," Tadashi says with a nod. He didn't like it, but the way that all the others were looking at him was enough to make him realize that this was a battle he would have to fight another day.
"Because if you do and it hurts the company in any way, we will not hesitate to redesign you to make you more… compliant," the director finishes in a low hiss.
Tadashi can't help but feel a tiny spark of fear at that-as much as he knew that was a possibility, it was hard to imagine someone who worked for Disney actually threatening one of their characters! Still, he swallows hard and nods to show that he understands.
"Good." The director moves away from him and says in a voice so that everyone can hear him, "All right everyone, that's a wrap for today. We'll pick up again tomorrow once I've spoken to the writers."
He walks away towards the door leading out of studio they'd been filming in, and Tadashi feels his whole body sag with relief. He doesn't have much time to relax, though, as he hears Fred calling his name and, moments later, his boyfriend is wrapping his arms tightly around him and pulling him into a deep kiss.
"Oh my gosh, I was so scared for a second there that they… That they were going to take you away from me," the fanboy breathes when they finally break apart for air. "But I am so, so proud of you… I can't believe that they're actually-!"
"I know!" Tadashi laughs, happily pecking him on the lips. "But they are, and I think we're going to be okay from here on out!"
"Way to stick it to 'em!" Hiro laughs, grinning up at his older brother. "I didn't know you had it in you, but you proved me wrong!"
"Dashi, this is wonderful!" Honey Lemon agrees, pecking Tadashi (platonically, of course) on the cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I didn't know what I could do to help-"
"It's okay," Tadashi reassures her. "It was my battle to fight, and I'm just glad that it turned out as well as it did."
"I still think it's totally fucked up that they won't let you two be together publically…" Hiro huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hiro, language!" Tadashi automatically corrects him before adding, "I know it's messed up, but this is a pretty big step, all things considered!"
"It is," a voice suddenly says, and they turn to see the woman from earlier standing near them.
"Oh, um, thank you?" Tadashi answers uncertainly before remembering his manners and adding, "Thank you for sticking up for us back there. Without your help…"
"I was more than happy to do it!" the woman replies with a smile before scowling and adding, "I think the way they treat toons is completely atrocious-acting like you're not real people and threatening redesigns the moment a toon tries to express themselves in a way that doesn't fit with what the writers 'chose' for them… It's disgusting! If I had my way, redesigns would be completely illegal!"
"Wow, um… I'm glad to know that there's a human who feels that way," Tadashi says, blinking in surprise.
"Of course!" the girl nods. "I didn't become an artist so I could create pawns I could bend to my will-I wanted to see what sorts of unique characters I might be able to help create, and I wanted them to have the freedom to be themselves! I think half the fun is when a character surprises you with something new, even if it wasn't what you'd originally planned! Sadly, a lot of people have seemed to have forgotten that, if they ever believed it at all to being with…"
"So you are an artist?" Tadashi asks, his suspicions from earlier being confirmed.
"Yep!" the girl smiles back at him, seeming more cheerful than she had been after her rant. "The name's Christy. I worked on a lot of the characters for this movie-and, I'm not going to lie, I was never a big fan of pairing any of you guys up, but you and Fred? That's pretty cute, actually!"
"Well, we do make a really good couple!" Fred says playfully, leaning over to peck Tadashi on the cheek.
"See? Stuff like that is what I'm talking about!" Christy chuckles before reaching for her pocket as her phone starts going off. "Oh, looks like I have to go-our wonderful director has called an all staff meeting," she adds sarcastically, rolling her eyes before pulling out a sheet of paper and scribbling something down on it. "Here." She presses it into Tadashi's hands. "This is my cell number. If you need anything-and I mean anything-just call me and I'll see what I can do, okay?"
"T-Thank you!" Tadashi was slightly surprised but couldn't help but feel grateful all the same.
"You'd be surprised-I think you might have a lot more friends on the crew than you might realize," Christy tells him with a warm smile. "I'll start spreading the word, see what I can do. You guys deserve as much support as you can get!" She waves and then heads off towards the door.
"Okay, that? That was kind of awesome!" Hiro says with a grin, breaking the stunned silence that followed her departure.
"Yeah it was!" Fred agrees with a grin before turning to Tadashi. "Hey, why so serious?" he asks playfully. "This deserves a celebration!"
"Yes, we totally need to have a party!" Honey Lemon cries eagerly.
"Well, I think before we do that maybe Fred and I kind of need to come out to the rest of the cast-make sure everyone's okay with it before having a whole party about it," Tadashi says slowly.
"Do you really care if anyone doesn't approve after you just stood up to the director?" Fred asks in disbelief.
"Not really, no, but if the fact that Wasabi seriously hasn't moved during this whole thing makes me think that it's going to take a little bit for the shock to wear off for some of them," Tadashi answers, smirking slightly as he glances over at his cast mate who, indeed, still seemed to be frozen with disbelief by everything that had just gone down.
"All right, fine, we'll do it your way…" Fred sighs, rolling his eyes playfully to show that he really didn't mind too much and was too happy to really care how his boyfriend wanted to do things considering everything that had just happened.
"Good!" Tadashi smiles and pecks his cheek before starting to lead him towards the door so that they could head back to their dormitory and start telling the others (Aunt Cass would probably be ridiculously happy just knowing that he was dating someone he loved, and he couldn't really see any of the others really minding-hopefully they might even be supportive!) Considering how badly things could have gone, he was just grateful that he was walking out of here, still able to freely love Fred. After all, that was the biggest victory he could have asked for.