Tadashi carefully parked his mopped under the covering near his building and cut the engine. The two sat in silence; Hiro's arms still wrapped tightly around Tadashi's middle. The sensation caused a fire to spread throughout his chest and through his stomach, where he felt the teen's hands lay.
The skater quickly removed them and took off his helmet, shaking out his scruffy hair and looking around at the line of identical buildings. "Um, are you finally gonna tell me where we are?"
The loss of physical touch was odd, but he could still feel the teen's warmth remain.
"We're at my apartment."
He felt Hiro stiffen slightly at the mention of their location and then clumsily maneuver himself off the mopped.
Tadashi chuckled, "Need any help back there?"
"I'm fine." The teen mumbled and Tadashi swore he heard a slight stutter.
Could he actually be nervous?
Tadashi doubted it, but tried to keep a comfortable distance just in case.
He took the lead and directed them up the small flight of stairs that led to his studio suite.
Opening the door he gestured with a tilt of his head for Hiro to follow. The teen looked a little reluctant but quickly entered the doorway into the small room.
Tadashi turned the light switch on and glanced over to see his every possession being quietly analyzed, like some sort of mental scan was in the process.
"Hmm. Ya know it's not as big or fancy as I pictured, but it's nice."
Tadashi smirked. "So you've fantasied about my place before?"
Hiro scuffed and casually played with his small ponytail.
"No. I just figured you had a lot of money, being a med student and all."
Tadashi laughed and watched Hiro continue to mess with his hair, idly thinking how much he'd love to run his fingers through the soft looking locks himself.
"You're giving me that creepy look again."
Crap!
"Uh I was just thinking that maybe you'd like something to drink?"
The boy shrugged.
"Sure. What kind of soda do you have?"
"I don't have any soda."
"Are you kidding?"
"No. It contains too much caffeine and sugar. It's not healthy for you."
Hiro sighed and dragged his fingers down his face.
"Ah, I should have known. So let me guess; water."
He said it more as a statement than an answer.
"Or apple juice."
"Apple juice? How old are you again?"
"Beverages don't have an age limit?
"Alcoholic ones do." The boy snapped back.
"Well that's different…"
"Fine I'll take some apple juice."
Tadashi stood there waiting.
Hiro stared, until it hit him.
"Please."
Tadashi smiled. "Coming right up."
"First no soda, then manners; are you always this good?"
"Can't help it. I was raised this way."
The teen nodded, his eyes once again scanning the small area. He walked over to the television stand adorned with various photographs in frames and picked one up.
"So are these your parents?"
Tadashi didn't have to turn around to see which picture the boy was talking about.
"Yeah. My parents met when they were pretty young but they were married for a few years before they had me."
"Do you visit them often?
"Sometimes. I try to stop by the cemetery at least once a month, but between my upcoming exams and work, I haven't really had the time."
Hiro instantly put the photo down and stepped away.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…um…" He felt at a loss of words.
"No don't worry about it. I don't have many friends so it's actually nice to talk about it with someone else."
In fact, it was really nice.
Hiro gave a genuine smile and took the glass of apple juice handed to him with a small 'thanks'.
The teen seemed pretty comfortable now so Tadashi figured it was his turn to ask.
"What about yours?"
They had both settled on the quaint love seat near the television set, each taking up one of the corners and leaving the entire middle space between them. Hiro quirked his brow in a quizzical manner as he continued to jug down his juice.
"What about your parents? What happened to them to make you live with your aunt?"
Tadashi had asked in the most gentle tone he could, afraid that he might hit a nerve with the boy and cause his punky attitude to surface.
He was quiet for a little while, and the student was beginning to think he'd never get a response. But before he could stammer out an apology for over stepping any boundaries, he heard a faint whisper.
"My mother was a druggie who one day just decided she didn't feel like being a mother anymore, so she left me at school one day and never came back."
Tadashi was in shocked silence, waiting patiently for the teen to finish.
"And as for my father, I never knew the guy so I can't really say."
The weight of such a revelation was heavy on the student's heart and he shifted his body to face Hiro, wanting so desperately to take the boy in his arms and hug any sadness away.
Unfortunately he didn't have the chance before Hiro tried to quickly change the subject.
"Well there's no use crying about it now. I'm over those two anyways."
His tone was indifferent but his eyes said otherwise and Tadashi once again felt those conflicting emotions.
"So is the aunt you're staying with your mother's sister?"
"No she's my newest foster parent. Apparently I can be a handful sometimes, so I've moved around a lot. But she's the nicest one so far! I call her Aunt Cass and she owns a café right on the corner of Sakura Drive. You may have heard of it? She's a great cook and a huge movie buff, plus she doesn't' hover which is exactly my kind of thing. I could really get used to her."
The mention of this Aunt Cass seemed to brighten his spirits and Tadashi smiled along with him.
"She sounds great."
"Yeah she really is." Hiro smiled and let his eyes wonder over the student's things for the umpteenth time that night, when they fell upon his neatly made twin bed.
"So do you live by yourself or does your girlfriend crash here sometimes?"
He thought the question random, but decided to humor the boy and play along.
"What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"
"Please, just look at you! Charming, handsome, smart, kind; I bet you have girls fawning over you all the time." He said with minor disdain.
Tadashi couldn't help but laugh. "I can't say some haven't tried, but have you ever thought that maybe it's not girls I'm interested in?"
Hiro stopped.
"Wait so you're gay."
"That is an affirmative."
The teen swiftly cast his eyes over Tadashi's face to see any signs of bluff, and when he found none he instantly looked away.
"So…do you have a boyfriend then?"
Tadashi felt himself breathe again, releasing the fear that the boy would reject his company and friendship over something such as his sexuality. He had suffered a fair amount of ridicule in the past, making him cautious of who he confided in, but he felt so comfortable with Hiro that the thought hadn't crossed his mind until he had said it.
The boy's continuous stare reminded Tadashi that he was still waiting for an answer.
"No, I do not."
The teen said nothing but nodded, and then got up and walked back over to the set of Blu-Rays next to the television set.
Tadashi watched him as he moved, wanting to ask him the same question, but considering the kid was still a minor, he figured it could pose as inappropriate.
"In case you're wondering I've tried both and I can definitely say I prefer dicks over chicks."
The med student lightly blushed at the crude choice of words, but felt a small sliver of hope begin to shape somewhere within his heart. He knew he shouldn't be feeling this way, but it just felt so natural and right.
As long as he doesn't catch on, there's no harm done, right?
He already knew the answer but decided to ignore it in lieu of watching as the teen picked up the latest Transformers movie and casually slid it into the Blu-Ray player. He then plopped back down on the couch, slightly closer to Tadashi this time, but still keeping a good distance and propped his feet up on the coffee table ready for the show to begin.
Tadashi smiled as he felt that small sliver inside himself warm.
I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to give him my safety lecture, he thought and made the move to cover both of them with the wool blanket hanging over the back of the couch.
He saw Hiro smile, although his eyes large brown eyes never left the bright screen. It wasn't until half way through the movie that Tadashi felt a soft thud on his left arm and looked down to see a scruffy mop of hair leaning upon his shoulder.
Tadashi felt that warmth once again and lightly cradled his arm around the smaller figure before slowly closing his eyes and nodding off himself.
When he awoke the sun was out and shining brightly throughout his apartment. The spot beside him was cold and it hit him that he was alone. Slowly he stretched and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand searching for his phone to check the time. A cheerful 'ding' alerted him of its location and of the text message waiting to be read.
'Had to leave early to manage some damage control with Aunt Cass, but thanks for saving me last night. We should hang out again sometime when you're not so busy!'
Tadashi instantly felt guilty for essentially allowing the boy to spend the night without informing his guardian of where he was. The poor woman was probably up all night worrying about him. He had faith that Hiro would be able to talk himself out of it, but he was more than willing to stop by and explain everything if she was still unsettled.
It was Sunday so he realized the library was closed.
"I could use a nice cup of coffee before studying for my exams." He said aloud, then got up and began heading towards the bathroom to take a shower, but not before using his phone one more time.
"Siri, find Sakura Drive, Sanfransoykyo."
A/N: Wahhh sorry for the super late update! I had finals and graduation, plus I'm still in the process of completing an internship of sorts, so I have had very little time to myself!
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the new insights to both of their backgrounds. More is to come~
Thank you all so much for reading and please tell me what you all think :D