The Hamada household was always busy. Tadashi and Hiro both woke early to go to attend classes and arrived home late after hours of work in their respective labs. Weekends were dominated by hours in the cafe with Aunt Cass. Free time was a fantasy that no one, especially not the two brothers, had an plenty of. When they did find a little time for themselves it was often spent getting in a few more moments of much-needed sleep.

One Saturday morning, though, Hiro woke up actually feeling refreshed. The sun was beaming through the windows. The room was filled with a silent stillness that was only punctured by the soft snores of Tadashi on the other side of the room. The birds were chirping outside. Hiro's eyes slid closed as the peaceful atmosphere enforced his body's will to doze. A few seconds later the teen was sitting bolt upright, frantically searching for his alarm clock. Panic ripped through him as he jumped out of bed, tore the door open, and bolted downstairs to the cafe.

"Aunt Cass! I'm so sorry! I slept in, but I'm here now and I'm ready to-"

"Hiro, hun, you're putting an apron on over your boxers!" Aunt Cass chirped on her way by, flashing a grin at her nephew. "And I thought I told you last night that I didn't need you? You can go ahead and go back upstairs. You have the day off!"

"The day… off?" Hiro's sleep-addled brain took a brief moment before processing the information. "Sweet! Thanks Aunt Cass!"

Ten minutes later when Tadashi barrelled into the living room, also only in his boxers. Hiro couldn't stifle the laugh that poured out of his mouth. Unfortunately a little milk dribbled out of his mouth at the same time so it kind of ruined the whole effect.

Panicked, Tadashi slapped Hiro upside the head on his way by. "Why didn't you wake me up, knucklehead?"

"Because- wait, Tadashi!"

But the older boy was already racing downstairs.

Oh well.

It wasn't long before Hiro heard Tadashi's returning footsteps. The older Hamada's face was bright red and he was covering the front of his boxer-briefs. Hiro sniggered at the embarrassed look on his brother's face as he plopped next to him. Tadashi flicked his forehead and for the next few minutes they both silently watched the television. Then, after a short time, Hiro got bored. Though he welcomed a day off his mind was racing and required some sort of stimulation. "Dashi, I'm bored."

Tadashi glanced at him, his big puppy dog eyes, and sighed. He had been enjoying just relaxing. "We could go down to the garage?"

"Uh, no." Tadashi relaxed visibly. "After that test on quantum mechanics yesterday, I can't believe you want to go work. Nerd!"

"Whatever," Dashi rolled his eyes, glancing around the room. "We could… play video games?"

A few seconds of indecision warred on Hiro's face before he began nodding enthusiastically. "Actually, yeah. That's a good idea. I'll pick the game!"

Tadashi resolved to observe as Hiro unearthed the Xbox he had bought with bot fight earnings before his SFIT days. It had a good layer of dust on it so Hiro went to blow it off and Tadashi was transfixed. He'd been having more and more of these moments lately. Moments where he couldn't take his eyes off of his younger brother. His younger brother, for God's sake! He rubbed a hand over his eyes, effectively tearing his eyes away from the other boy's lips. Hiro was his brother. And besides that, he was just so… no. It didn't matter whether Hiro could ever return his feelings, because yet again, they were brothers.

A slim shoulder bumped his. "Hey Dashi, gonna sit there and facepalm all day or are we going to play?"

The older boy took his hands away from his face. Hiro was offering him a control, which he gladly took. Any form of distraction was welcomed at this point. "What game are we playing?"

"Some stupid car game. We can change it out in a few rounds if you get bored."

The racing game was fine, but other things were not. First of all: competition. Playing video games was the first time Hiro had ever seen Tadashi actually get competitive about something that wasn't related to robotics or protecting his younger brother. It was amusing to watch at first but it quickly escalated. Soon both of them were bumping the other, trying to jostle them into sending their car off the raceway. Which brought Hiro to the next problem: the touching. Every time Hiro felt Tadashi's skin press against his own he felt scandalous. It got the point that Hiro was glad he'd put on a looser pair of boxers last night or his pride would be a goner.

What he didn't know is that Tadashi was in a similar situation. The older boy had been thinking about anything and everything under the sun to avoid an awkward boner. He could only imagine Hiro's reaction. "Who the hell gets turned on by video games? Way to go, nerd!"

So much was his focus on his mental image of old people kissing that he missed Hiro's words. "What?"

Hiro gave him an exasperated look and rolled his eyes. "I said, 'Let's make this more interesting'."

"How?" Tadashi inquired.

"A bet," and the mischievous look in Hiro's eyes made Tadashi want to squirm under his gaze. "Loser is the winner's slave for the rest of the day."

Oh, hell. No amount of elderly makeout sessions would help him now. He pulled a knee to his chest and rested a cheek on it, the picture of nonchalance. Inside he was desperately trying to cool down his awfully-timed libido. "Gonna' have me get stuff off the top shelf for you?"

"Shut up! Do you want to do it or not?"

"Sure," Tadashi grunted, but really he was trying to ignore the thrill in the pit of his stomach at Hiro and slave. Plus the way Hiro was looking at him, with a gap-toothed smirk on his face, was driving him crazy. It was almost like the younger boy knew and was just sitting there, taunting him. Hiro paused for a second longer, taking in the blush on Tadashi's cheeks before turning back to the screen. He would win this round. He had to win this round. Without giving the older boy a warning he started the race. The elder Hamada floundered for a second, watching in dismay as Hiro gained the lead.

Thus started an intense battle of the wills. Tadashi and Hiro were not above cheating. This game brought out the worst: pinches, shoves, and - worst of all - tickling. It seemed that every time one of them gained the lead that the other would do something and the balance would shift again. Hiro ended up pressed against Tadashi's side, simultaneously trying to keep himself in the race and also avoid the other male's hands. It seemed, though, that Tadashi was going to win despite his best efforts. The last straight stretch was coming, though, and one well-timed shove could mean the difference between losing and winning.

His animated car burst into the straight stretch, gaining speed, and Hiro took one hand and pushed on Tadashi's leg…

… and missing, sliding his hand over his thigh and right into his lap. His thinly veiled and surprisingly large, stiff lap.

The controller in Tadashi's hand clattered to the floor as he slapped a hand to his mouth, his cheeks flaming red.

"Dashi," Hiro blinked, eyes wide. "Did you just moan?"

Elderly couples. Rotted food. Calm meadows.

Hiro Hiro Hiro.

Hiro's hand on his…

"Can you- you have to- God, Hiro, your hand!" He covered his face with one hand and pushed Hiro's hand away with the other, drawing his knees up to his chest. Could this day get any worse?

Meanwhile, Hiro's genius brain was already racing ahead. Tadashi had just… his… that… oh my God. As awkward as this situation was, he was beginning to find it quite favorable. He glanced at the television and his grin grew even wider. In a bold move, he pushed aside Tadashi's hands and legs and climbed up on his lap, straddling his waist.

"Hey Dashi?" He said innocently, trailing one of his fingers up the other's chest and watching his skin flush. "You won, so… it looks like I'm your slave for the day. What do you want to do?" He glanced up at him through his bangs and flashed a small grin, watching his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

Oh hell.

Author's Note: So as you can see... I've been really into Hirodashi lately. Someday I'll return to the land of Soul Eater and finish up EWMG! (I even have it planned out, and the sequel started) but for the moment... yeah. Okay. I'm ashamed. I need Jesus. Good day, ducklings!