A/N: I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've updated this story! I hope that this makes up for the wait, though. Feel free to leave a comment in the towel section. R&R. Enjoy!

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In the Dark of the Night

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Going Down with the Ship

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"So nice to see you an, Hiro Takachiho," Tadashi said as he approached the smaller boy. He saw Hiro's form stiffen and then turn around slowly to meet his gaze.

His trademark smirk spread across his face, but his eyes were worried, practically frantic. His expression didn't full Tadashi one bit. It was obvious that he was worried; just now, it appeared that he had been looking for something. Tadashi knew what it was: his back pack. After all, this was the roof where he had accidentally left it. And although Tadashi didn't go through his back pack, he could only imagine how frantic it probably made Hiro once he realized it was gone.

Like Tadashi, Hiro wore his own suit to protect his identity, and yet he had written his name on the inside flap of the back pack. It was probably something Hiro carried with him everywhere. Judging by the wear and tear, the back pack was old, which meant that Hiro probably had had it for quite some time.

"So, you figured out my name, huh?" Hiro tried to smirk, but again, Tadashi wasn't fooled. After discovering the boy's name, he did a little digging on his own and what he found had stunned as well as amazed him.

"That I did, Dr. Takachiho," Tadashi replied. The smirk was gone now and Hiro was visibly pale, even from the distance Tadashi was standing. A dark look crossed Hiro's face, but it was one of despair and pain.

"You found that out, too?" he muttered.

"As much as I'm guessing the press was allowed to release," Tadashi said, not unkindly. And he had read all that he could find when he typed in Hiro's name.

He graduated high school at twelve and then went on to receive a few degrees in college before he was drafted into some kind of plan for the military. When the plan had failed, resulting in Hiro losing his mother, father, and his best friend all at once, a big inquiry took place and Hiro's name eventually faded away from the public light. Tadashi didn't need much else to fill in the holes; that was pretty easy for him.

"Look, I'm not going to judge you and I certainly don't hate you or anything," Tadashi said and tossed Hiro's back pack at him. He caught it and gazed wide eyed at Tadashi, as though he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"You don't need to explain anything to me. Not unless you want to," Tadashi told him. "But I do like you and I hope to continue seeing you on my patrols every night."

Tadashi turned and was about to leave – he was at the end of his patrol and tomorrow was Monday, which meant a big test of course – but stopped when Hiro called out to him.

"Hey! Um…" he paused and bit his bottom lip, looking younger and vulnerable and Tadashi had to remember that he was only sixteen. He gave him a warm and friendly smile, hoping to eradicate some of the darkness that had seeped out from Hiro's soul and onto his face.

"Tadashi Hamada," Tadashi introduced himself, his smile never wavering. Hiro nodded.

"Tadashi, okay. Hey, Tadashi, I'm…not the person I was a few years ago," he said, obviously choosing his words carefully. "So…don't expect me to save anybody. I'm not a hero like you."

"If you say so," Tadashi said, still smiling. "I'll see you later, Hiro. Big test tomorrow!"

With that, he swung his legs over the side of the building and gently and gracefully landed on the fire escape. Within seconds, he was back on solid ground, making his way home cautiously, carefully, all the while thinking about Hiro.

Tadashi knew that even two years after the incident, Hiro wasn't the same person. Losing your parents and those you loved the most did that to you. The pain of that loss changes you and although you rebuild and grow again, you're not the same person you once were. He of all people knew that, understood it, could empathize with what Hiro had and/or was going through.

But he didn't pity Hiro or anything of the sort. Tadashi was greatly curious about him and wanted to get to know him and see him every single day. Part of his mind and heart was toying with the possibility that maybe Tadashi was attracted to him and he couldn't deny it. Hiro was a cute guy with that constantly messy hair, that gap between his teeth, those large, wide brown eyes, and that small body of his, but Tadashi wasn't going to make a move first. Actually, he wasn't even going to bring it up or even try to think about it. While he wanted to see Hiro again, Tadashi wasn't going to force him into anything or pressure him. No, he would let Hiro come to him if he wanted to.

For now, Tadashi needed to focus on school, on protecting San Fransokyo, and on his aunt and her small but highly successful café that he had to work at on weekends – not that he minded doing so. So, while he continued on his way home, he tried to think of the shower he was going to take and how fast it would take for him to fall asleep. Yet his mind continued looking back on Hiro's cute and soft face, his large brown eyes and his body, so small that it'd probably fit perfectly against Tadashi's own.

That was when Tadashi stopped walking. He was almost home, having lost himself so deeply in thought that it had practically taken him no time at all to reach his block, but that didn't matter. What did matter was his sudden epiphany: he was falling for Hiro. He had only just met the boy and hardly even knew him on a personal level and yet he was thinking about how cute he was and how their bodies would fit together? Seriously?

Well…

Okay.

Tadashi could admit, probably more times than what was necessary, that he had done and gone through stranger things – like seeing his buddy, Fred, dress up like Chibi Moon from Sailor Moon and parade around the SFIT campus (it wasn't even Halloween…it wasn't even October!). Therefore, having been struck by one of Cupid's arrows so suddenly shouldn't have been that out of the norm for him. Tadashi ran a hand over his helmet and shook his head before he started his walking again.

He was on a ship and it was sinking fast. Before too long, he'd probably drown and there was really no way for him to stop it. And yet, he was strangely okay with that.

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A/N: Just a little side note: I changed the age that Hiro graduated high school. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!