Hiro woke up beside his boyfriend, Ezra, to find sunlight streaming through the curtains of the cheap motel room they'd been living in for the last few weeks. It wasn't uncommon for them to live in one motel room for weeks at a time, although usually never for more than the span of a month. They couldn't risk staying any one place at a time for too long. Even though it was likely their horrid foster parents had stopped looking for them over a year ago, technically Hiro was still only seventeen (despite what his fake ID's said) and so if they wanted to manage to keep him from being thrown back into the system before he finally became a legal adult next April they had to keep from putting down too many roots and risking someone starting to ask questions that they couldn't afford being asked. Still, at least they were almost at the safety point where they would be officially free forever, so that was better off than they'd been when they ran away on the dark night two years ago. Running away might not have even been an option for the two penniless orphans if their foster parents hadn't forced Hiro to get a job after he'd graduated from high school at age thirteen. Sure they took all of the money that he made, claiming to be "putting it away" for him. But given Hiro was a genius, he'd just kept tabs on how much he made and then, on the night they'd run away, he'd hacked into their bank account at an ATM and withdrawn that much from it. It wasn't stealing that way-the two tried to avoid stealing unless it was an absolute necessity, which usually meant they hadn't eaten for a full day and were starving. Still, they managed to find small, part time jobs in most of the places they went to pay for food and lodgings. If they couldn't find a place to stay that they could afford on their extremely tight budget, they slept in the beat up old purple rover they'd bought with Hiro's money in the first town they'd stopped in. It wasn't an easy life, but it was a hell of a lot better than what they'd come from, and at least they had each other.
Still, after all their years of hard work, things finally seemed to be turning around. Through an acquaintance they'd met in their travels, Ezra had managed to snag a job working in the print room of a major newspaper in the metropolitan wonderland that was San Fransokyo. It wouldn't pay much, but if Hiro could find an at least part time job in the city (and there were certainly lots of stores and restaurants that would be looking for workers in a place like that) then maybe they could actually afford an apartment and officially settle down! They'd learned from hard life experience not to get their hopes up too high in case things didn't work out, but they couldn't help but be excited at the prospect.
Speaking of, the two needed to get going if they wanted to make it to the city at a decent hour-it was about a three hour drive from where they were now to SF, and after they got there they still had to hunt around for a cheap motel to stay in for the night before Ezra started his job the next day.
"Ez." Hiro gently shakes his boyfriend's shoulder. "Ez? C'mon, you need to wake up."
"Five more minutes…" Ezra mumbles, rolling over and pulling the pillow over his head.
"Ez, you know I'd like to sleep in as much as you but we've got a long day ahead of us so up and at 'em," Hiro answers with a wry smile.
"No… Sleep." Ezra reaches over and pulls his boyfriend back down onto the mattress, rolling over to playfully pin him down.
"Ezra Bridger, don't you dare play dirty with me!" Hiro says, trying to sound firm but fighting a laugh.
"Maybe I like playing dirty…" Ezra answers, finally opening his eyes and smirking down at his boyfriend before leaning down to gently nip at and then kiss the tiny cherry blossom tattoo on Hiro's left shoulder. The tattoo had been Ezra's idea on Hiro's last birthday-the younger man wasn't that big a fan of tattoos and probably wouldn't have gotten one if they hadn't both been mildly drunk from the bottle of hard cider that they'd managed to get ahold of and somehow or other when they woke up the next morning it had been there. At least it wasn't anything that Hiro majorly regretted getting, and, besides which, Ezra had taken a strong liking to it, using it as something of a target when they started getting a bit frisky, something Hiro certainly didn't mind-at least not on normal occasions. But today he knew that his boyfriend was just using it as an excuse not to get up and so he gently but firmly pushes him off.
"C'mon." He pecks his boyfriend's cheek before standing up. "I'll go find us some breakfast while you get ready for the day, okay?"
"Okay…" Ezra agrees, doing his best to look like a petulant child but keeping his tone light enough to let his boyfriend know that he wasn't really that upset.
"I promise I'll take first shift so you can sleep some more in the car, okay?" Hiro tells him with a warm smile.
"You are the best boyfriend ever!" Ezra declares, beaming as he bounces out of the bed to hug him.
"And don't you forget it!" Hiro chuckles, hugging him back before heading for the door.
About thirty minutes later, after a quick breakfast of McDonald's hash browns, they turned in their room key and hit the road, heading towards what they hoped would become their permanent home. As promised, Hiro took the first shift, swapping with Ezra after an hour at a gas station before changing out again about forty-five minutes outside of the city limits. When the skyline of San Fransokyo became visible, both boys couldn't help but feel excited. It was the start of a dream-their dream-coming true, and, even though they were too practical by now to really believe in happy endings, they couldn't help but feel like maybe something amazing was about to happen.
By the time they actually get into the city proper it was almost noon and so, after locating the building where Ezra would be starting work the next day, they decide to try to find something for lunch. Usually meals for them were the cheapest food that they could find (which often meant fast food or instant microwave meals-ramen when they were really desperate), but Ezra insists to Hiro that they should pick someplace nice to eat since this was a special occasion. After a bit more driving around and sightseeing, Hiro finally spots a little cafe that caught and held his attention. Maybe it was the fact that it was called "The Lucky Cat Cafe" and both he and Ezra loved cats (they'd made friends with several strays at their foster home and hoped to someday have one of their own when they had more stable living conditions.) Maybe it was the fact that a sign in the cafe window boasted the best mochi in town, a treat Hiro hadn't enjoyed since he was a little boy (he could barely remember anything of what had happened before his parents' accident, he had been so young at the time, but somehow the sweet taste of mochi ice cream had stayed with him all these years.) Or maybe it was just this odd feeling in his gut that (as ridiculous as it sounded) somehow they were supposed to go in there.
"Ez, can we try that place?" he asks, pointing to it.
"Sure!" Ezra smiles warmly over at him and presses a quick kiss to his cheek. "If that's where you want to go, then that's where we're going."
About a minute later they were pulling into a parking spot in the alley behind the cafe. Hiro climbs out of the driver's side door and meets Ezra around the front of the car, the two linking hands before making their way to the cafe door.
Inside they're greeted by a waitress with long blond hair and bright pink glasses who introduces herself as Aiko before leading them over to a small booth and handing them menus, telling them to take their time deciding and promising to be back soon to take their drink orders before heading off to check on her other tables. For the first five minutes, Hiro studies his menu, trying to decide what to get (his choices narrowed down greatly by trying to find the cheapest items on the menu, despite what Ezra had said about it being a celebration lunch.) After finally settling on a bowl of the potato soup and idly waiting for his dining companion to decide, he can't help but have the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched. His eyes sweep the cafe, trying to find the culprit, and-there!
Across the cafe, standing behind the counter, was a tall man with short black hair and dark, almond shaped eyes, almost identical to his own. He might have noticed the similarities between their features more if he hadn't been so disconcerted by the other guy's intense gaze. Of course the man looked away as soon as he realized that he'd been caught staring, but still! Hiro felt a tiny bit shaken by it.
"I think that guy's crushing on you," Ezra notes dryly, a slightly possessive glint in his eyes-apparently he'd caught the stranger staring as well.
"Gross, he's too old for me, even if I wasn't completely devoted to you, which I am!" Hiro declares, shaking his head. "Plus I don't go for guys who act like creepy stalkers!"
"Maybe we should put him in his place?" Ezra suggests, a slight smirk on his face.
"I like the sound of that," Hiro admits, grinning slightly as Ezra pulls him into a very expressive, showy kiss, just to make sure there was no mistake that his boyfriend was very much taken. Still, in spite of the kiss, Hiro continued to catch the stranger staring at him throughout the meal. Because of this, the two guys were unable to enjoy their food as much as they would have otherwise and, while Hiro had originally wanted to stick around to get mochi for dessert, they decided to leave as soon as they were finished with their regular food was gone.
They were waiting for Aiko to return with their check when suddenly a plate of mochi was slid onto their table. Surprised, Hiro looks up to find the stalker guy smiling nervously down at him and saying, "Compliments of the kitchen."
By now, Ezra was completely fed up with the stranger's behavior. "Look, I don't know if you're dense or what, but Hiro is my boyfriend, so back off already, okay?" he snaps at the guy, pushing the plate back at him. "If you think you can bribe him with free dessert, you've got another thing coming, we've been through hell together and you have no idea-"
"H-Hiro?" The other man seemed to be completely ignoring everything Ezra was saying, his eyes locking onto the other teen. "Y-You're name is actually Hiro?" he asks softly.
"Yeah," Hiro answers, his guard immediately going up. "What's it to you?" Was this guy with the police or something? Oh gosh, what if he'd recognized him as a runaway and was going to try to take him back to his horrible foster parents?! No, he wouldn't let him! He and Ezra could take this guy and they'd run away again to somewhere safe!
What he didn't expect was for the other guy to suddenly look like he was going to start crying and whisper, "O-Oh my gosh… I-I can't believe it's actually you… That you're actually here…"
"Uh, what do you mean?" Hiro's brow furrows in confusion-things had just taken a turn for the weirder, although somewhere deep in his chest there was a small tugging, as if somehow he actually had some sort of connection with this stranger.
"H-Hiro…" The other man offers him a shaky smile, seeming to be just managing to hold it together. "I-It's me, Tadashi! I'm you nii-chan!"
"Wait, what?" Hiro blinks rapidly, trying to process what he'd just heard. He had no idea what nii-chan meant, but the name Tadashi did sound oddly familiar…
"Your last name's Hamada, right?" Tadashi asks, his voice eager now.
"H-How did you know that?" Hiro asks, blanching slightly.
"Because that's my last name too!" Tadashi answers.
"Wait, how could that be your last name unless… Hold on, are you trying to say that we're related?!" Hiro gasps, the truth finally starting to dawn on him.
"Yes!" Tadashi agrees, shaking his head vigorously. "Like I said, I'm your nii-chan-your older brother!"
"I-I don't remember having an older brother…" Hiro mumbles, although slowly but surely fuzzy memories from his very early childhood of an older boy who did sort of resemble this stranger start coming back to him.
"I guess you were only three at the time," Tadashi answers softly, a slightly heartbroken look on his face at the lack of recognition. Still, he hurries on to continue explaining, "After the accident, we go separated, put into separate homes-since you were only three there was a couple who actually wanted you, but I was eight so they didn't want me and I got stuck in a group home for a couple years."
"T-They separated us?" Hiro quietly gasps. "Aren't they not supposed to do that?"
"They do a lot of things they're not supposed to in the foster system," Ezra mumbles darkly.
"True…" Hiro sighs.
"I guess they thought it would give you a better chance…" Tadashi quietly mumbles before adding, "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't miss you. About two years after I was put in that foster home it was found that we had a living aunt-an estranged sister of our dad's-and after they told her about us she came to get me. She wanted to get you too but when we tried to apply for custody, you had… disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Hiro asks, frowning.
"We tried every branch of the social services, but somehow they claimed that they 'couldn't locate' you," Tadashi answers, a dark scowl on his face. "It was like all your files had conveniently 'disappeared'. I get the feeling that for some reason they didn't want us to find you…"
"Given our foster parents tried to make money off of us as soon as possible, I'm not surprised," Hiro answers with a scowl of his own.
"They tried to-Oh my gosh, Hiro, that's horrible!" Tadashi gasps, a look of pure horror on his face, quickly replaced by righteous anger. "If I could get my hands on them…"
"Meh, we ran away a couple years ago so at least they haven't hurt us for that long," Hiro answers with a small shrug.
"R-Ran away? You mean you two have been homeless?" Tadashi's expression was back to horrified.
"Not completely… We've been finding work where we can and we've got a car so we've never actually had to spend the night in a dumpster or anything," Hiro says wryly.
"We've been doing a good job taking care of ourselves," Ezra adds, his hand closing possessively around his boyfriend's again.
Tadashi's gaze finally turns on the other teen. "You said that your Hiro's… boyfriend?" he says uncertainly.
"I am," Ezra agrees firmly.
"Wow…" Tadashi lets out a soft chuckle. "What were the chances of both of us turning out gay?"
"Excuse me?" Ezra raises an eyebrow, not sure what to make of that.
"I have a boyfriend too," Tadashi explains with a warm smile. "Well, fiance, actually. His name's Fred. We've been going out since the end of high school."
"And you're, what, probably in college now? That's a long time!" Hiro comments.
"Guess it is!" Tadashi agrees with a quiet laugh.
"We've been going out since you were thirteen!" Ezra quickly puts in to remind his boyfriend.
"True." Hiro gently pecks him on the cheek.
"That's so sweet that you guys have been taking care of each other like that…" Tadashi says with a warm smile. "I'd love to hear more about your relationship, but maybe that can wait for a minute-I'm sure Aunt Cass is wondering why I'm not checking on my other tables, but she'll understand once she finds out that Hiro is actually here! Oh my gosh, otouto, she's going to be so happy to see you too-to know that we finally have you home!"
"Home?" Hiro's eyes shine at the word. "You mean… We can stay here?"
"I don't see why not-we've been looking for you for this long!" Tadashi answers with a grin.
"Both of us?" Hiro glances over at Ezra.
"If he wants to stay, he's more than welcome to," Tadashi answers warmly.
"Did you hear that, Ez?" Hiro beams over at his boyfriend. "We have a place to stay!"
"Hiro…" Ezra felt an eddy of emotions swirling inside him. As exciting as this all was, he'd pictured today turning out so differently. He and Hiro were getting ready to start out on their lives together, alone--after it just being the two of them or so long, were they really ready to suddenly go back to living with a family? For another thing, this was Hiro's family, not his-even though they were both being invited to live here, would Hiro's family really want him living with them? What if they were only saying that now to get Hiro to agree to this, but then they'd try to turn his boyfriend against him and kick him out? Tadashi seemed like a nice person, but was he really? Down deep, Ezra knew that he was honestly just jealous-jealous of these people who might try to take the love of his life away from him. But he wasn't about to admit to that and so instead he tells himself that he's just trying to protect his boyfriend when they knew nothing about these virtual strangers.
"H-How do we know that you're actually related to Hiro and not making this all up?" Ezra finally demands.
Tadashi seemed somewhat caught off guard by the tone of his voice, but he answers calmly enough, "Of course. I know that this all seems kind of far fetched. But maybe this will help." He reaches under his shirt and pulls out a golden locket, flipping it open to reveal a picture of a little boy with a fluffy raven's nest of hair that was undeniably Hiro as a toddler.
"This was the only picture I've had of you all these years," Tadashi says softly, turning to his younger sibling. "It's the reason I recognized you today when you walked in. I wasn't sure it was you, but you looked so much like my otouto that I had to try to talk to you-I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd let you just walk away and never known for sure."
"Otouto…" Hiro repeats the world softly. "What does that mean?"
"It's Japanese for 'little brother'," Tadashi explains with a warm smile. "It's what I used to call you when we were kids. You'd always call me 'nii-chan', which is Japanese for big brother."
"I don't really remember that…" Hiro admits before admitting more shyly, "But I wouldn't mind using it now, if you'd like me to."
"I'd be honored," Tadashi answers with a slightly emotional-looking smile before turning to Ezra and adding, "And I'd be honored if you'd be willing to maybe let me be your nii-chan too. I-I know we're not actually blood related, but you're dating my little brother and he obviously thinks the world of you, so…"
"Y-You'd want me as a little brother?" Ezra asks in disbelief, something loosening in his chest.
"Not if you don't want to be!" Tadashi hurries to reassure him. "But if you think you'd like that…"
"I-I think I might, actually," Ezra admits slowly, smiling slightly, his smile growing even larger when he sees Hiro grinning at him from across the table. "It might be nice to have an actual family after all this time…"
"It would be," Hiro agrees, gently squeezing his hand.
"Welcome to the family, then-both of you," Tadashi says warmly before adding, "Now c'mon, let's go introduce you to the rest of the family, huh?"
"Sounds good!" Hiro agrees, hopping out of his seat and reaching over to take his boyfriend's hand in his own. Ezra gratefully squeezes his hand, equal parts nervous and excited but knowing without a doubt that they were doing the right thing.
Aunt Cass was, of course, overjoyed to welcome both boys into her home-Hiro as her long lost nephew and Ezra as her possible future son-in-law. Her house (which turned out to be an apartment above the cafe) wasn't exactly set up for having company over but she and Tadashi found an air mattress in the attic that had used to belong to Aunt Cass' old roommate in college which would work until they could get an actual bed for the two boys. If either of the elder Hamadas were averse to Hiro and Ezra sharing a bed, they didn't show any signs of it. In fact, Tadashi actually offered to give up his bed for the night so that the two teens didn't have to sleep on the floor, but it turned out that the air mattress was actually bigger than the regular bed and both of the guys reassured him that they had certainly slept in worse conditions before-the inflatable bed was actually a lot better than anything they'd slept on in over a year. Somehow that only seemed to make the older man feel worse, but Hiro managed to distract him, asking him to share stories from their childhood since his own memories were fuzzy. Tadashi was more than happy to oblige, sharing everything from sweet to funny to downright embarrassing stories, all of which Ezra was more than happy to hear about-after all, it was cute hearing about his boyfriend as a little kid! Halfway through one of his tales, Tadashi suddenly broke off and hurried over to the closet without an explanation, returning a few minutes later with a triumphant look on his face.
"I knew I still had him!" he declares, pressing something soft and white into his brother's hands.
"What is this?" Hiro asks, holding the object out so he could get a better look at it.
"It's Baymax!" Tadashi answers with a grin, gesturing to what had turned out to be some sort of plush robot. "You used to take him everywhere with you! Before we got separated, you gave him to me-you said that I could give him back to you when we were back together again. I held onto him all these years, hoping that someday I would get that chance."
"Wow…" Hiro gasps quietly before smiling up at his elder sibling. "T-That's really sweet of you, Dashi…" Some of his memories were becoming a bit clearer with all the stories, and somehow he'd slipped back into calling his elder brother the childish abbreviation of his full name, something the other man didn't seem to mind at all.
"It was nice having something tangible of yours to hold onto, y'know?" Tadashi says with a slightly embarrassed but pleased smile.
"Baymax…" Hiro considers the toy again. "Isn't that the name of those nursebots that really smart college student made and that they're starting to use in hospitals?"
"Where do you think I got the idea?" Tadashi answers calmly with a hint of mischief in his expression.
"W-Wait, y-you… No! No way!" Hiro cries, eyes going wide. "Y-You're the inventor of Baymax?!"
"Surprised?" Tadashi asks, chuckling.
"I- This is… Wow…" Hiro breathes, distractedly running his hands through his hair before admitting quietly, "You know this kind of makes you my hero, right?"
"You don't have to say that!" Tadashi flushes bright pink.
"No, seriously! You're one of the youngest successful robotic pioneers ever!" Hiro cries, seeming star struck. "I only wish I could be half as good…"
"You like inventing?" Tadashi asks hopefully.
"I've never had much of a chance to do it…" Hiro admits shyly.
"But he can fix or make just about anything mechanical!" Ezra puts in, giving his boyfriend a proud look.
"I'll have to take you to my lab at SFIT sometime and show you around," Tadashi says with a grin. "Who knows? Maybe you could go there too-they have really good scholarship programs, that's how I managed to get in. Plus, since my royalties from Baymax are paying off pretty well, I wouldn't mind helping you in any way I can. You too, Ezra, if you had any interest in going!"
"T-That would be a dream come true," Hiro breathes, completely starry eyed.
"Maybe…" Ezra says uncertainly. "I never actually graduated high school, though, and I kind of just got a job here in the city…"
"You could always work on getting your GED while working a job, if you wanted to," Tadashi offers diplomatically. "Whatever you think is best for you, just let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you, okay?"
"Thanks." Ezra flashes him a grateful smile. "I really appreciate that."
"Of course." Tadashi smiles back at him. "You're part of the family now too, so I'm going to do whatever it takes to take care of both of you."
Soon after that, Aunt Cass calls them all down for dinner-being the owner of a cafe, it wasn't surprising that she was an amazing cook, and she seemed to be pulling out all the stops to celebrate the homecoming of her nephew and his boyfriend. Shortly following their dinner of the best hot wings either of them had ever had, the two teens find themselves dropping, exhausted from both their travels and all the emotions that day had brought with it. Tadashi gently escorts both of them up the stairs to where their bed was waiting for them, tucking them in like they were still little kids-Hiro suspected that he might have to talk to him about not treating him like the child he'd been when they'd last seen each other, but tonight he couldn't really bring himself to care. It actually felt kind of nice having his nii-chan taking care of him like this. As he contentedly curls up against his boyfriend under the covers, he can't help but think now amazing today had been. He never could have imagined anything like this happening when he'd woken up this morning. But, as hard as it was to believe that this wasn't all some crazy dream, he knew that it was real. Somehow, as much as he'd refused to believe in fairy tales and happy endings all this time, one had found him anyways. And he couldn't be more grateful to be here, both with the family who loved him and the man that he loved more than anything in the world. After all, that's all anyone could ever ask for. And, for the first time in a very, very long time, his heart was telling him that he was finally home.