As a responsible college student, Tadashi Hamada knew how to manage his time and energy. Equally important, however, was the management of time and energy once work was completed. In that regard, he was an expert. He hurled himself into his work with the knowledge of the rewards of his labor. Having just concluded his ultimate final exam hours prior, Tadashi arrived home to take a well deserved nap. After a long and rejuvenating nap, he figured that there was only one way to truly begin his summer break: movies and pizza. Hiro and Aunt Cass would both be out of the house for the time being, so Tadashi was free to order his preferred type of pizza and he could pick out the movie without having to broach the possibility of getting into a fist fight with Hiro.
"This is my kind of living."
Things were going well for Tadashi. The two slices of pizza were delicious, his previous semester went quite well and his academic future was looking bright, Hiro was finally using his mind for something constructive at the SFIT, Aunt Cass' business was looking up, and his relationship with GoGo was presently fantastic. The two had only been dating for around a year, but he felt as if he had known her forever. Frequently, Tadashi took on the burden of being a guardian for both Aunt Cass and Hiro. Hiro needed a positive influence in his life and Aunt Cass had far too much on her plate as it was, so it frequently fell to Tadashi to suppress the more stressful side of his emotions for their sake. He felt a similar sort of guilt taking out his anger or frustration out on his friends, but with GoGo it was different. He never worried that GoGo would deride or reject him whenever he confided in her. The two could go to each other without a modicum of insecurity or anxiety, and they accepted each other fully and without complaint. Even though GoGo was more guarded and opaque than the Pentagon, and even now Tadashi felt as if GoGo didn't let him in on absolutely everything, he was greatly pleased with the progress the two had made in their relationship. It made him feel kind of special, in a way. Being one of the few people on the planet to have earned GoGo's trust was an honor like no other. He had to be extremely delicate, and, if he was to say so himself, quite charming to get her out of her shell. Or perhaps a more apt analogy would be to get her to lower her weapons.
DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING
Tadashi had been hurled forcefully out of his musings by the sudden ring of his phone. It was also at this time that Tadashi had noted that it was one in the morning. Who could be calling at one in the morn-
GoGo
Tadashi didn't even have to check his phone to determine that she was calling. Was something wrong? What did she need? He felt a pang of anxiety in his stomach as he picked up his phone.
"Hey. What's up?"
"Hey. Can I see you?"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Is everything okay? Where are you?"
There was a brief pause. "Please don't be weirded out."
Reflexively, Tadashi threw his glance to the window adjacent to his bed under the assumption that he would find GoGo there. He was not unaware of her subconscious desire to emulate Spider-Man. After a brief scan of his windows, he concluded she must've been elsewhere.
"I'm outside your house."
After taking a few seconds to process the rush of information, Tadashi hustled down his room, into the café, and into the streets to find GoGo sitting down with her back pressed against the exterior of the café. As was generally always the case when he encountered GoGo, Tadashi felt an overpowering urge to give her a hug.
"Hey."
GoGo turned to meet his gaze. "Hey."
Tadashi considered asking GoGo exactly how long she had been sitting there, thought better of it, and immediately placed it in the back of his mind. "Can we go inside?"
As Tadashi introduced GoGo to the concept of civil living conditions, he took a few moments to take in her appearance. Normally calm and confident in just about every scenario, she walked with a mild slouch and her head held down with her hands in her pockets. Tadashi didn't have to know GoGo particularly well to deduce that she was in somewhat of a bad mood, a fact readily apparent totally divorced from the fact that she had showed up outside his home at one in the morning. Before anything else could happen, Tadashi had to satisfy his reflexive desire to comfort her. To that end, he leapt in front of her path, pushed her face up to meet his, and planted a firm, passionate kiss directly on her lips. Immediately following his burst of confidence, he searched for any sign of a positive response.
"I'm happy to see you, too." He had what he wanted in the form of a verbal response and a tiny, shy smile from his girlfriend. He gave her a gentle smile in return.
"Look, I'm sorry about this. I was just so…tired. But I couldn't sleep, you know?" She explained as she carefully avoided his gaze.
"And you just couldn't resist me, right?"
She rolled her eyes fondly. "You keep telling yourself that."
"Progress." Tadashi thought to himself. Slowly but certainly, GoGo was returning to her usual, snarky self. Even so, he still had a bit of work to do. "Well, since you're here now and I don't have the energy to give you a ride back, do you want to spend the night here? Hiro and my aunt are gone."
Tadashi detected the slightest hint of a smirk on GoGo's face. "Well, I suppose if you insist. I'm about to pass out over here."
Before Tadashi could fix his sheets, GoGo hurled her body onto Tadashi's bed and buried herself in the warmth and comfort of the blankets. Seeing GoGo like this made Tadashi smile. She was under so much pressure and she felt such an over-powering need to hide herself from the outside world, but it was nice to see her with her defenses partially down, if only for a brief time. He decided he would keep the image in his head as he headed off to the couch for the rest of the night.
"Where are you going?" Tadashi's journey was interrupted by GoGo.
"I'm going to bed. It's two in the morning."
"This bed is pretty roomy."
Tadashi could feel his face burn up. He desperately hoped the darkness of the night was enough to cover it up.
"I don't know, I mean, I'm totally fine with the cou-"
"Hamada," GoGo interrupted him as she sat up to get a better look at him. "I need someone to keep me warm, so get your cute little ass over here. Now." She concluded with assured finality.
On the one hand, physical contact with GoGo was one of Tadashi's favorite hobbies, and he had no qualms with indulging himself at school or in public, but there was something far more….intimate? Was that the right word?
"I just can't resist you, you know?"
Nearly drained of his energy, Tadashi slumped into bed with his girlfriend. The two reflexively draped their arms over each other surrounded by the calming background chorus of the night. Tadashi found that there was something exceptionally nice about cuddling with GoGo in his bed. It was as if all the problems and worries of the world simply vanished and the only thing left was this extremely pleasant sensation in his chest. He also loved being able to keep his head propped up on GoGo's.
"Thank you. For being totally cool with me being weird, I mean."
"No, thank you. You are the sweetest girlfriend a guy could ask for. You know exactly when I need comfort." He gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. GoGo hoped the dark precluded Tadashi from witnessing her blushing as the two drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.
