It was 2:00 AM on a cold night in December.
And Hiro Hamada couldn't sleep.
Now, Hiro wasn't known to be an insomniac, rather he just got so caught up in his ideas that he'd...well let's just say forget to sleep. With that super genius brain of his coming up with new ideas at the most inopportune times, including ungodly hours in the morning; it was difficult for the fourteen year old high-school graduate to sleep.
But contrary to all of this, tonight was one of those rare nights when Hiro truly believed he was an insomniac. There were a billion other random things on his mind, different sensations he'd experienced throughout the day, the fact that his blanket didn't seem to stretch over his toes and now was the only time he'd ever been able to notice, along with other completely useless bits of information occupying his brain. He twisted and turned under the covers, suddenly becoming hyper-aware of every light brush against his skin as he swiveled his head around on his cotton pillow. A slight gust of wind blew in from the cracks of their windowsill, and it became apparent that actually achieving comfort was impossible.
Hiro sighed, kicking off the heavy but useless blankets and sitting up. He stared blankly into the dark for awhile, letting his eyes adjust before making any kind of decision. Should he work on something? Would that tire him out enough to get a few measly hours of rest? Or would it just wake him up even more? The groggy teenager made his way to the computer he shared with his brother, swiveling around in the chair for a couple seconds before actually turning on the monitor.
He flicked on the little blue switch, only to have his eyes assaulted by the dim glow and his pupils flood with light. Hiro only made it to the desktop before turning it back off again. There wasn't enough energy left in him to start or continue a project for that matter. He wanted to sleep. He just couldn't. Forcing himself back out of the chair, Hiro almost made it back to his bed when he realized the sliding door leading to his brother's side of the room was slightly ajar.
Hiro, the child prodigy, didn't have a single logical thought that led him to believe his brother would help his situation. But he slipped through the gap in the door anyways. He was tired. That seemed logical enough at the time.
His eyes had re-adjusted to the dark again, and he could make out his brother's sleeping form, hear his soft breathing, and see the rising and falling of what was assumed to be his chest.
"Tadashi…", Hiro whispered, waking himself up a little when he instinctively clasped his hands over his mouth to prevent any more comments that might wake up his sleeping sibling.
He stood by Tadashi's bedside and stared for a few minutes, listening to his breathing and trying to sync his own respiration. He felt his knees lock and swayed a little bit, closing his eyes but still standing, inhaling and exhaling to match his brother, only a little heavier, and a little louder.
"...Hiro?", a dazed voice murmured, causing the younger sibling's breath to hitch. All of his efforts, wasted.
"...Hiro, what are you doing?", came the voice again, slightly clearer, less infected with the bliss of slumber.
The black-haired teen was still standing, with his eyes still closed, only now he had a finger to his lips.
"Shhh.", he responded sharp and quick, letting the arm go limp at his side and trying to refocus the pattern he'd worked so hard to achieve. But the quiet chuckle that sounded from behind the maroon of his eyelids almost immediately destroyed the attempt. And soon enough they were both laughing hysterically like one of them had told the funniest joke in existence, because god damn it all Tadashi's laugh was way too contagious.
Now both of them were way more awake than they should've been. Both pairs of eyes were open and both pupils dilated in the dark. Maybe it was from the lack of light; maybe it was from pointless excitement.
"So what are you doing, exactly?", Tadashi questioned again, laughter still intertwined with his speech.
"Move over.", Hiro interrupted, completely ignoring the query and making odd unseen motions with his hands. But his brother complied without hesitation, scooting to the other side of his already quite small bed and lifting the blanket to allow the younger sibling to crawl underneath and join him. A wave of warmth hit Hiro the second he lied down, and at first he couldn't tell if it was from the blanket or the body next to him.
"Can't sleep?", Tadashi asked, finally getting an answer in the form of a slight nod. Hiro slowly inched his way closer to his brother under the sheets, confirming his previous hypothesis when he felt the temperature rise ever so slightly.
"I don't know why…", Hiro drawled, half dazed and somehow still wide awake.
"Why, what?", the older brother asked, his mind elsewhere.
"Why I can't sleep.", the younger replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world, almost a bit offended.
"Oh...right.", Tadashi yawned, eyes drifting shut but mouth still slightly open, showing just a bit of his tongue and the top row of teeth.
Hiro knew if they had a whole conversation like this Tadashi would never remember it in the morning. It would be like a slumber party at 4 AM, where everybody told their secrets but were always so out of it you could've just assumed they were drunk. Although, maybe he could use this to his advantage…
"I just...I don't want to be a burden.", Hiro continued, unusually quiet compared to the volume they'd just been speaking at.
"You're certainly not a burden, what would make you think that?", Tadashi replied, an unusual amount of sincerity in his voice for someone whose eyes were closed.
"Like...at times like this I feel like I'm...like I'm bothering you-", the younger teen explained, drawing himself close enough to hear the heartbeat caged in his brother's ribcage.
"No...don't think like that Hiro, I'll always be here for you.", there was an eerily long pause before Tadashi continued.
"I know I haven't been all that social lately with all the work I've been doing at the lab, and I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, but I'm not mad at you. The project deadlines have just been putting some stress on me, but I'll still love you and support you no matter what happens. Remember that, okay?", he ended his speal by brushing aside Hiro's long bangs and planting a kiss on his forehead. Hiro couldn't help but wonder if his eyes were still closed.
Just tell him.
Hiro felt a tingling sensation bubble up in his stomach as the word "love" was expelled from his brother's lips. It shouldn't have, but it did. What Hiro shamefully felt was a different kind of love.
Just tell him.
Despite the young genius' extensive knowledge on fancy technical terms in robotics and mechanical engineering, he didn't know how to properly express his emotions, which was turning out to be quite problematic.
Just tell him.
He inhaled heavily,slowly, much louder than the rabbit-like breathing and rapidly thumping heartbeat he'd accustomed himself to in the past couple of minutes. Tadashi was...so close to him right now. Maybe he could just...express his feelings in a non-verbal way. WIth that tired and illogical thought in mind, Hiro let his eyelids fall and brought his face close enough where he could feel his brother's warm breaths entering his own mouth.
He shuddered involuntarily, caught in between sleep and awareness, unsure of which side to plead for, which side would make him seem more innocent. With a slight tilt of his head to the left, and part of him sinking into the pillow beneath him, Hiro pressed his tightly sealed lips to Tadashi's slightly parted ones. His entire body tingled from the contact.
The older sibling experienced a delayed reaction, the sudden feeling of someone's lips against his own and his eyes fluttered open, revealing his brother clutching at him desperately in the dark. It took a moment for the action to register in his mind, and when it clicked Tadashi yanked his head back.
"...Wh-what was that?"
