Prologue:

Triggers: Thomas being extremely creepy because he's "with family" and has no barriers… the sleazy jerk. Also, one or two curse words said by a young Fred.

January 21st

7:10 A.M.

Mom has always told me never to go down in the basement, and I mean always. It's like her rule book has "Fred cannot go in the basement" at the top of every page - and it's a pretty extensive book to begin with, I've seen it.

Anyway, using my super spy skills, I snuck down there after the maids went to bed, and I investigated thoroughly. It seemed pretty normal, until I saw that picture... there was a portrait of the family with this blond guy holding me as a baby... he looked a lot like I do now. I'm afraid to ask anyone about it, cuz they'll probably scold me... It'd suck if I got grounded... it makes this dumb mansion even more lonely.

I wonder about that guy, though. Who was he? A part of the family, I guess, but how come I never see him? You would think, if he was family, I'd have met him. End journal.

"Master Fredrick!" Squawked Levine, the (temporary) head maid. "Master Fredrick, are you dressed? It is time for breakfast!" Her brisk knocking cut into Fed's thought process, and the twelve year old boy sighed.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled as he slid his journal back into his desk drawer. He pulled on a t-shirt and a blue hoodie before exiting the bedroom portion of his suite.

Shutting the door behind him with a frown, his eyes wandered over the vast amount of posters and action figures he'd amassed over the past two years. His shelves were stocked with... probably every well known comic book available to man. All this stuff... he just wanted to surround himself with it and never leave his room. It wasn't like there was any point to going out there, anyway. He would wander the same empty halls and wonder when his parents would be home, then work on his studies and repeat the process all over again the next day.

He crossed the living space of his suite, opening the door. Unfortunately, instead of finding the short, stern Levine, he came face-to-face with an obnoxious creature... a.k.a., his cousin, Thomas.

"Hello Freddie boy~." Chuckled Thomas as he teasingly wiggled his fingers in Fred's face. "How are you this morning?"

"..." Fred's eyes narrowed. "My morning was fine before you showed up." He huffed and shook his shaggy blonde bangs away from his eyes. "What do you want, Thomas?"

"So cold!" Thomas exclaimed dramatically. Fred rolled his eyes as the teen continued. "I found some spare time and decided to come visit you! After all, it's important to make sure my precious widdle cousin doesn't get lonely!"

Fred shuddered. The way Thomas spoke to him made him feel gross... he was only two years younger than the other, but the difference seemed to flip some sort of creepazoid switch-

The comic obsessed pre-teen forced his thoughts to a screeching halt, deciding he would not give his pathetic, disgusting cousin a psychological advantage over him. Not today.

The best course of action would most likely be a silent one, Fred determined, and with that thought in mind, he strode past Thomas and down the long hallway, the dining room providing him with a goal.

He could hear Thomas walking behind him (the other wasn't the best at lifting his feet and had an awkward, annoying shuffle), but, thankfully, the male remained quiet.

"Levine, what's for breakfast?" Fred asked, sliding into his normal chair at the large dining table.

"French toast and scrambled eggs, Master Fredrick... With bacon, of course." She added just as the boy opened his mouth to ask about the side dish.

He reached for a plate but found it snatched out of his reach as his stout server piled food onto it for him. She set it down on the placemat and he took the time to make a complaint under his breath about not being five and doing it himself. He was silenced rather quickly by Levine's glare.

He then began to eat, but not before glancing at Thomas, who watched him with his chin resting on laced hands. Ugh… creeper, Fred thought spitefully. He dug into his food, attempting to focus solely on something other than Thomas. Please give me a distraction. Please, please, pleeeease…

His prayers were answered. Levine chose that exact moment to come up beside him and deliver a sealed, white envelope. He recognized his name penned on the envelope as being written by his mother, and, wincing slightly, he opened it. If his parents had sent him a letter, that meant they weren't coming home any time soon. Even knowing the grim news would be somewhere on the page (or pages, it felt like), he pulled out the letter and began to read the perfect scrawl.

Dear Fred,

How are you, darling? We both miss you ever so much and regret to inform you that we won't be coming home on Friday, as planned. Your father's business trip was extended another week, and afterwards, we will be staying on the isle. We'll come home as soon as possible, but the weather is absolutely dreadful and as of now, the isle is the only place we can go… we may not make it back in time for your thirteenth birthday-

"Liar!" Fred cut in, throwing the papers to the side. "This is bullshit!" He glared at them, somehow hoping he could gain laser vision and light the traitorous words on fire.

"Master Fredrick!" Gasped Levine, startled as she scrambled to collect the papers. "I will not tolerate that kind of language from a twelve year old, not while I'm in charge." She snapped at him, watching as he returned to his food angrily. She regarded Thomas, who calmly contemplated Fred with a smile. "I'm so sorry, Master Thomas. It seems as though Master Fredrick is hardly himself. Might I suggest your visit be extended to another day?"

"That's quite alright. I think it will be fine." Replied Thomas. "What's the matter, Freddie? Are Aunty Christina and Uncle Stan staying away longer?" He spoke almost teasingly, and Fred flinched at the patronizing undertones in his voice.

His thin patience was brought to its end with the line, and he stood, shoving the chair back so hard it toppled over and clattered against the wood flooring. "Stop calling me Freddie, you stupid jerk! Get out!" He snapped, though it was he who stormed out of the room, leaving his half-full plate on the table. He lost his appetite with Thomas around..

The shuffling followed him back down the hall and to his suite, pausing when he did at the door. "I said get out." Fred bit out firmly, refusing to turn. "Don't you know what that means, idiot?"

His blue eyes widened as a lean body pressed against his own. He was trapped against the door… hot breath ghosted across his neck and he shuddered, his stomach dropping to the floor.

"Freddie~..." Purred Thomas and he nuzzled (actually nuzzled) Fred. Oh… oh God, that felt gross... He was going to throw up. Already, a panic attack had begun to spiral up inside of him.

Without thinking, Fred's leg kicked up behind him, and the pressure against his back lessened. "Urgh…!" Choked Thomas, and the younger teen used his freedom to his advantage and pushed open the door to his suite. Sliding inside and slamming the door, he pressed against it just as Thomas threw himself forward.

"Get off the door, Freddie~." Thomas said, and Fred blinked back tears, pressing harder. Thomas rammed himself against the door again, repeating the sickeningly sweet words with a bit more force. "Get off. The door."

"Stay… stay away!" Fred nearly screamed, mustering all his courage to do so. His whole body pushed against the door to keep it shut. He couldn't lock it; Thomas had the door knob completely turned to keep the lock out of use. "I said go!" Fred yelped when Thomas again tried to rush the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself and put his back to the door, staring at the one to his bedroom. He wasn't fast, but if he timed it just right, he could get to the bedroom portion and lock that door. He only had to wait… wait for Thomas' next try.

WHAM! The second Thomas recoiled, Fred made a mad dash for the other section of his room, slamming the door and locking it quickly. "Hah… thank goodness…"

An enraged cry came from the other side of the new barrier, and Thomas kicked at it, startling Fred.

"Just you wait, Freddie, just you wait... one of these days... " Thomas chuckled and the sound forced shivers up Fred's spine. "I'll see you around." he said eventually, and the younger male listened to the shuffling of his older cousin recede, and flinched when the outer door slammed behind him.

A few shuddering breaths found their way into Fred's lungs, and he allowed himself to slide to the floor, his pounding heart slowing. "He's getting worse… I sure hope he finds someone else to pick on soon…" He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. It sure would be nice to know that strong guy in the old family portrait he'd found...

End Prologue

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to A Cage of Fire! I hope everyone enjoyed the little bit of darkness I added to Fred's past by using that jerk Thomas from Till I'm Gone. By the way, this fic does clash with Sora-san's work, and because we're really close (we see each other almost every day), she said I could go ahead and borrow some of her work.

I guess you could call this an AU fic where Callahan isn't a jerk and Tadashi doesn't die, because it's mostly fluffy FreDashi!

I'm mainly writing this because Sora-san really got my muses working with her one-sided FreDashi, and she partially requested it because there's so much she can't put into TIG so that it stayed Gen. Anyway, Chapter One should be out soon and we'll go from there. Hope to see you then!

~ Melanie