Tadashi worried at his lower lip, watching his younger brother across the table. Hiro (who usually couldn't go five minutes without talking) had been unusually silent all through dinner. His answers had been short, clipped, and even a little abrasive at points. The elder Hamada was concerned for his brother. He knew that the thirteen-year old had been dealing with a lot of bullying during his last year of high school. For the most part it had been only verbal insults - which Hiro had laughed off with sarcastic grace - but it seemed something had finally cut through the boy's thick skin. When he pushed away his half-full plate of extra-spicy chicken wings, Tadashi knew that something had to be done.

He let Hiro get up the stairs before he asked to be excused as well.

After he'd put his plate away, he quickly followed in Hiro's footsteps. When he cracked open the door the lights were already off. He could see a vague Hiro-sized shape in huddled under the blankets on his bed. For a long moment Tadashi warred with himself, weighing between waiting until morning to bring it up or not. He finally decided, quickly crossing the room and flicking the lamp on before he could talk himself out of it.

"What the hell, Tadashi!" Hiro whined from within his cocoon, the lump writhing slightly as the boy tried to turn away from the light. "Some people are trying to sleep, here!"

"What's wrong?"

Hiro stilled under the covers and Tadashi knew that he had been right not to wait. "Hiro, did something happen at school today?"

A sigh, but no answer. Tadashi tried a different tactic. "Does Aunt Cass need to call the school again?"

That elicited a response. Hiro sat up abruptly, shaking his head so that his wild hair flew around his head like a lion's mane. "No! Don't do that! It's nothing! It's - it's stupid. Nothing you need to worry about."

The concern only amplified, though, as Tadashi watched Hiro avert his eyes while he said this. Hiro, who was always an open book to Tadashi, was hiding something. And if the blush on his cheeks was anything to go by, it was something he was embarrassed by. "Did they steal yours clothes while you were in the locker room again?"

Hiro groaned and buried his face in his hands. "That was one time! And no, that isn't it." Peeking through his fingers, he took in Tadashi's steady gaze and sighed. "You won't let this go will you?"

Tadashi shook his head fiercely and placed his hand on his younger sibling's head. "No chance, knucklehead."

"Whatever," Hiro muttered obstinately, dropping his hands. His thoughts wandered back to the conversation he'd been dragged into during lunch today and his embarrassment increased trifold. Of course, it had started out innocently enough. One of the few people who didn't treat the young genius like a social reject had invited him to sit with him and his friends. This had been a welcome opportunity after months of sitting along, so he had accepted. Eventually, though, the conversation had turned to relationships. It had been a downward spiral from there. "Some kids from school today were just teasing me, okay? No big deal. Nothing I can't handle on my own."

"You're not handling it," Tadashi pointed out, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards the pile of blankets he'd been under. "You're hiding."

"It's stupid!" Hiro protested while curling his knees into his chest. He avoided eye contact with Tadashi because he knew his cheeks were blazing red. "The guys were just bugging me about not having a girlfriend, okay?"

This left Tadashi confused and speechless. Hiro had been openly pansexual for months, but it had been a long time since someone had said anything about it. Tadashi himself had nearly forgotten, only because it seemed to fit Hiro so well. "Hiro, if people are judging you based on your sexual orientation then-"

"No, no!" Hiro cut him off quickly, punctuating his frustration by slamming his palm into his forehead. "That wasn't it! They just…" Hiro grimaced, pleading with Tadashi using his eyes. "Are you really going to make me tell you?"

"Yes." Tadashi's tone left no room for argument.

The younger Hamada sighed, his shame painting his cheeks red. "I haven't had my first kiss yet, okay? That's what they were teasing me about."

Oh. Oh. It was Tadashi's turn to be embarrassed, because he had yet again overlooked that the young genius was, in fact, a human teenager going through puberty. Hiro just sat there, his eyes glued downwards to avoid his elder's judgement. The only thing Tadashi wanted was for Hiro to stop looking so damn sad. Perhaps it was this Hercules complex that led him to do what he did next. Maybe he was finally acting on the feelings that he'd been withholding since before he could remember. Either way, suddenly he had surged forward and captured Hiro's lips with his own.

It took the younger boy a second to comprehend what was going on and, by then the kiss was over. The two stared at each other in shock, neither quite ready to acknowledge what had happened. Tadashi stuttered out something along the lines of "I need to get to bed" and quickly fled to his side of the room. When he pulled the divider shut between them it resounded like a bang. Hiro sat completely still for a few moment minutes, a blush creeping its way up his neck. As he slowly came back to his senses a mischievous grin grew on his face. He reached over and flicked off his lamp and listened to the sounds of his brother getting ready for bed. It was only about five minutes before the light on Tadashi's side of the room was off and the older boy was settling in for the night.

This was Hiro's cue. Without bothering to be silent, He got out of bed, padding his way towards Tadashi's half of the room and slid away the divider. From how still Tadashi's form was in bed, the elder Hamada didn't know quite what to make of the younger's advances. Hiro slid right up to the bed. Kneeling down near Tadashi's head, he let his lips just barely skate over the skin of his earlobe. He tried to calm the tremors in his voice as he took a deep breath.

"Hey, Dashi? Wanna teach me how to kiss?"

(A.N.: Wow. So... it's been a long time... In apology for my hiatus (if there are any of you out there still following me) I give you this little oneshot. For those of you who don't ship it: I apologize. An update of EWMG! is coming soon!)