A/N: Fast forward to the current day, and we see an updated version of what late night snuggling might look like. I have about 5 more chapters already written out, but I realized a little too late that the time-frame for this story is a little murky. I imagine it to be a somewhat AU, where Tadashi lives but Hiro still becomes friends with the gang. Baymax is complete, although he doesn't play a role in this story.

Chapter 2:

Throughout the years, Hiro spent many nights in his bed with him, huddled close against the bad memories, the bad dreams, the bad days. He did it regularly until he was about 10, and then less and less so until it happened only once in a blue moon. Tadashi thought it was an important part of growing up.

So Tadashi admitted he was surprised when one night, he heard that hesitant, "'Tadashi?" for the first time in months, maybe almost a year. He turned over and saw his little brother standing there, rubbing his eyes, his hair its usual crazy mop on his head, sticking out in every direction. He looked just as lost as the first time this had happened, and Tadashi felt a pang in his chest, like the reverberations when an unexpected impact rattles through your bones. The memory still made him think of their parents.

"Bad dream?" he offered.

"Yeah," and Tadashi was surprised by how hoarse Hiro sounded. It wasn't just a sleepy rasp he heard—it was… breaking? "Can I…?" he trailed off, but his voice had cracked even with those words.

"Yeah, of course," he murmured, pulling back the covers. He was more and more awake by the second, concern sending his big brother brain into overdrive. He watched Hiro closely as he almost fell into the bed next to him, turning to face him, hands curled uncertainly under his chin. Tadashi could tell that Hiro wanted to reach out and touch him, but was holding himself back.

Now Tadashi was really worried, because that wasn't how this went. Hiro always laid so his back was to Tadashi's front, and Tadashi would wrap his arms around him. There had come a point where they both realized that this behavior was perhaps a little unusual, or at least usually ended at an age earlier than this. Turning away from each other had been a concession of sorts, to minimize the awkwardness.

Hiro didn't look like he was feeling awkward. He looked like he was feeling desperate.

"You wanna talk about it?" Tadashi asked. He couldn't help that his hand went of its own volition to push some hair out of Hiro's face. He just looked so young that Tadashi couldn't stop himself, and he thought that Hiro needed the touch anyway. His hand lingered, laying itself on Hiro's neck, thumb stroking back in forth in a subtle, almost subconscious gesture of comfort. Tadashi searched Hiro's face.

Hiro bit his lip and averted his eyes, but they came back to look at him again quickly enough. Tadashi's eyes were adjusting to the dark and he could make out Hiro's face pretty well now, and he really did look on the verge of tears. "We don't have to, if you don't want to," Tadashi hastened to add.

A tear really did fall now, and Tadashi watched it slide down the side of Hiro's face to land on his pillow. He could feel Hiro's shaky breath blowing out on his face, that's how close they were, but neither of them could bear to be any further apart in this moment. Tadashi knew Hiro needed him here.

"You… You died," Hiro started, but then he seemed to lose his will, as if saying those two words alone was enough to drain him of the rest of his energy. Just as he thought Hiro's eyes were going to flutter back shut, they snapped open again, and Hiro said anxiously, "It seemed so real…! A fire—"

"Hey, I'm here now," and Tadashi carded another hand through his hair. It seemed to help and Hiro took a deep breath, exhaling against his face. Tadashi didn't even mind.

Hiro reached out a hand then, and Tadashi felt it tremble lightly as Hiro's fingers made contact with his face. It wasn't a caress on the side of his face, more like how a blind person might feel a face to get a sense of what it looked like. Hiro's fingers started high on his head, made their way down the arch of his brow, felt the bridge of his nose, and settled on his cheek. Hiro's thumb moved across his face, mimicking the gesture that Tadashi had made just moments before.

Tadashi was holding his breath. They hadn't been affectionate like this in a long time, not since they decided this whole ordeal was awkward. He didn't want to ruin the moment, or make Hiro feel self-conscious, so he didn't breathe.

"I couldn't lose you too," and two more tears made their way down to the pillow, one from each eye. Tadashi watched the tears make their journey, still holding his breath, waiting to see if there was more, but as a few more tears slipped free, Tadashi realized Hiro was done. The emotional strength it must have taken to make that confession, just moments after a nightmare made it seem like a reality was not something lost on Tadashi.

Tadashi moved his hand over Hiro's, lacing his fingers through Hiro's for a moment before placing their hands over his own heart. He could feel it beating, maybe even a little too quickly, under his fingers, and he knew that Hiro could feel its pitter patter against his palm. "I'm here."

Hiro was nodding, wiping his eyes, as if saying to himself that that was enough, and the tears were gone. How dare they fall out of his eyes without warning him first? Tadashi smiled, a little at the monologue he had given Hiro and a little just out of love for his brother. There were a few more beats of silence before Hiro whispered, "Thanks, 'Dashi," and let go of his hand, turning around to face away from him. He hadn't heard that nickname from Hiro's lips in a long time, and it brought him back to different times, times when they used to do this without thinking. For a moment, they were back there.

Tadashi slid his arm under the pillow into the crook of Hiro's neck, and wrapped his other arm around Hiro's waist. These days, he did it slowly every time, in case Hiro didn't want that kind of touch anymore, but Hiro moved even closer to him at the encouragement. Their bodies were pressed together almost from head to toe, and Tadashi let out a deep breath, feeling the tension drain out of him.

Beside him, Hiro did the same.