Chapter Text
When they're seniors in high school, Britt and Foggy go to prom together. It's not like-- It's not like they're dating. It's not like it's a date. Foggy just doesn't have anyone to go with and Britt's boyfriend decided three weeks before prom was the perfect time to cheat on her, and it's not like she's going to be alone at prom.
Besides, Foggy's mom practically begged Britt's mom, even though Foggy himself seemed pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. Still, Britt's not about to let her pathetic date get in the way of having a good time, and besides, her hair looks amazing and so does her dress. Mom let her buy it new instead of secondhand, and the pale blue satin looks gorgeous against her dark skin.
The doorbell rings and she finishes sliding dangly silver earrings in while she listens to her mom coo over Foggy's tux. Her heart is starting to race, and she tells herself, no, she is not going to get nervous about going to prom with Foggy Nelson. Maybe she's just nervous about looking good enough to make Bobby Diaz regret the day he decided to cheat on her. That must be it.
"Hey Foggy," she says as she opens the door and steps out into the living room from her bedroom. She glances past him, but then stops and takes a better look. Foggy actually looks good; his hair is smooth but not greasy, his face is clean-shaven, and the vest on his tux coordinates perfectly with her dress. Say something, she tells herself, but words won't come.
Foggy opens and closes his mouth a few times, cheeks turning a little pink, then finally chokes out, "Britt, uh, you look beautiful."
She grins, wide and easy, and says, "Not bad yourself."
"Come on, you two, stand next to each other so I can take some pictures!"
"Sure thing, Ms. Mahoney," Foggy says, holding out his elbow to Britt. She rolls her eyes and tucks her hand into his arm, smiling while her mom takes probably about a thousand photos.
***
The thing is, going to prom with Foggy is fun. He's a little shit like he always is, but he's on his best behavior. He cracks snarky jokes about the way Bobby and his new girlfriend Tina don't seem to be having much fun together, dances with her even though he is a terrible dancer, backs off so she can dance with her friends when she really wants to get down, and scares away some snooty juniors to get her a chair when she starts to get tired. Somewhere in the middle of the evening, she even decides she forgives him for the time he convinced her to steal some of her mom's cigars and try them out, and her mom had found out and grounded her for a month.
Around 3:00 in the morning, long after the dance is over, after they've had middle-of-the-night pancakes and ice cream with some of Britt's friends (and she is really, really glad that Foggy had agreed to hang out with her friends instead of his), they end up sitting on a bench in the subway station, waiting for their train home. Britt leans against Foggy's shoulder, half asleep but smiling while he tells her in excruciating detail about a flash video he saw on the internet. Something about a badger and a mushroom and a snake, she isn't really listening, but it's nice anyway. He has his arm around her and he's warm even though the night is chilly in her strapless dress.
"Hey Britt?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for letting me take you to prom. I-- I had a really good time." Britt lifts her head off his shoulder to smile at him.
"Me too. Guess you're not so bad after all." Foggy smiles at her for a few seconds, then his eyebrows crease, like he's thinking hard about something. Before she can ask what, he suddenly leans forward and presses his lips against hers, hasty and uncoordinated.
When he pulls back a few moments later, they catch each other's eyes and both start laughing at the same time.
"Oh my god, that was so weird," Foggy says, gasping for breath.
"For real, it was like kissing my brother or something," Britt giggles. "What were-- why--"
"I don't know, I just-- If this was a movie we would absolutely have kissed in that scene, so I figured I'd give it a shot, maybe I was secretly in love with you all these years and didn't even know it or something." Foggy finally catches his breath, huffing out one final chuckle. "Well, now I know: not in love, definitely not in love."
"Definitely not," Britt replies. "But it was worth a shot, I wouldn't mind being the heroine in a romantic comedy."
The rumble of an approaching train starts getting louder, and Foggy stands and holds out a hand to help Britt up as the train arrives. "Come on, you can lean on me, I know those shoes are killing you."
"No pain, no gain," she says with a smile, "but thanks."
***
Monday morning at school, Tina dumps Bobby, and the cute boy from Britt's math class tells her he thought she looked great in her prom dress. Foggy gives her a not-so-subtle thumbs up from across the room. Maybe they aren't in love, but Britt figures she loves Foggy a little bit after all. Like a brother. Like a really, really annoying brother.