A/N: Okay, so when I was little my older brother convinced me that the ballpits were filled with water and that you could drown in them. My grandma was also a neat and tidy type of person who never wanted us to play in the one they had at McDonalds, so thus this prompt came to existence.


Overly greasy pizza and a bunch of half-washed kids, all screaming and touching everything in sight, were really not factors in how Tadashi usually had spent his afternoons. However, since Hiro had gotten bored and demanded that they go somewhere fun, and since Wasabi had insisted on coming with, the oldest Hamada found himself with a bottle of hand sanitizer, washing off both his and his little brother's hands as they prepared to play in the attached playroom of the restaurant they had gone to for lunch. All the while, Wasabi was following behind him and lecturing him.

"Come on, Hiro. The ball pit is fun." Tadashi cooed to the three year old in an attempt to try and coax the startled child into the pool.

"Its fun, and filled with germs and other kids who don't know how to play nice..." Wasabi muttered as he looked at the balls in disgust and stepped away from them promptly.

"Nuh uh!" Hiro cried, now clinging to his brother's arm, which confused Tadashi, as Hiro had been the one to make the suggestion to go to the ball pit in the first place.

"Do you want me to go in with you and prove that there is nothing wrong with it? Tadashi asked him softly, though he himself was a bit hesitant about going in, having no idea whose been in it already and what kind of germs may have been- He really needed to stop hanging out with Wasabi before going to places like this.


"You're taking him where!?" Wasabi gasped in horror as he looked from the oldest Hamada brother to the youngest. "Are you crazy!?"

"Its just to-" Tadashi was cut off suddenly by Wasabi suddenly shrieking in horror.

"Do you know what a death trap of germs and calories that place is!?" The older man gasped, grabbing at his hair as if his life depended on it. "Do you know how often those places are cleaned!?"

"N-no...?"

Now, if Tadashi wasn't a new parent, then he probably would have laughed, but the thoughts beginning to form in his mind now weren't funny. This might have been why he took a bottle of cleaner and a 'map of death traps' from Wasabi before he left, before allowing his friend to just tag along with him.


"Yeah uh!" He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as his little brother's eyes widen beneath his messy, unbrushed hair, as was the three year old's style. "Go in, Dashi! Go in!"

"O-on second thought, Hiro-" He began, only to suddenly feel Hiro pushing at his legs as hard as he could. "Fine... I'll go in."

With a heavy sigh, he took off his shoes, along with Hiro's and slowly slid in. Upon entering, Hiro finally lept away from his brother and jumped into the sea of colored balls, causing a few to spring up and smack Tadashi in the face and a few going outside of the pit. In the back of the room, Tadashi could hear the horrified screams of his germaphobe friend, but he ignored them as a triumphant smirk drew across his lips, his older brother side pleased with how he got Hiro to try something new.

"I can't believe you let him do that!" Wasabi gasped, but was once again ignored by Tadashi.

"Enjoy yourself, kiddo." He muttered as he waited for his little brother to resurface.

A full minute passed after he had said that, and the older Hamada began to feel worried. There was no sign of his younger brother/ward at all, and none of the balls were moving in the ball pit either. Another minute passes and still nothing. Tadashi's heart was practically beating out of his chest by now and for a minute he felt like he was going to have a heart attack from worrying.

"You know, you like like a pretty big weirdo to the people who are watching. You're just stare at the balls in some kind of trance." Wasabi sighed in an 'I told you so' type of way as he watched the Hamada brother in his panic. "You know, I'm not going to say I told you so, bu-"

"Hiro!" Finally something in Tadashi snapped and he dove in after his little brother.

'Crap, hes probably dead by now!' He mentally swore to himself, all forms of logic, as well as pride, leaving him. 'Can kids drown in ball pits!?'

Finally, he found Hiro, who was safe and sound and giggling like an idiot as he tossed a ball out through the bottom of the pit and watching it roll away. With a sigh of relief, Tadashi proceeded to scoop him up into his arms and stood up rather quickly, suddenly realizing that the balls only came up to his knees.

"Hiro! Don't you dare do that again! I was worried about you!" Tadashi exclaimed to the completely oblivious child, more focused on the red ball in his hands than at his big brother.

"Chuck cheees fun!" He cried out suddenly, letting the ball roll out of his hands and into the mix of other balls.

"We're going home and you're getting a bath." Wasabi called firmly to Hiro, though the child doesn't seem to mind at all, for a bath seems like the ball pit as well.

With a nod of agreement, Tadashi made quick work of getting out of the ball pit, not even minding that Wasabi was all but hosing them both off with his can of cleaner, and promptly putting their shoes back on. All while doing this, the men were so distracted that they didn't notice anyone else around them.

"Oh, your son is so cute!" A female's voice suddenly says as Tadashi quickly looked up at her.

"H-hes my brother actually." He corrected her quickly, handing Hiro over to Wasabi so he could finish putting on his own shoes quickly.

"Oh, its so sweet that you're playing with your baby brother! Most guys wouldn't do that." She said sweetly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a slip of paper.

"Well, you know. This kid is his life and everything." Wasabi mutter dryly, looking Hiro over and gently swiping a piece of lint away from the child's hair. "Which would explain why he chose this place for lunch."

"You didn't have to come with." Tadashi snapped back, but low enough that only Wasabi could hear as he turned back to the woman and quickly took the paper. "And thank you."

"Well, if you want to set up a play date with me and your little brother, heres my number." The woman smiles as she turned on her heels and promptly left, leaving both men and the kid behind.

Tadashi flushed softly, smiling a little as he watched her leave, only to be brought back to reality by a red ball hitting him in the head and a sudden spray of sanitizer following quickly after the balls path.