Bruises

by Sandfire Kat

Hiro was so much like her. He was stubborn, he was intelligent, he was bright. A spitting replica if not for personality. Could he really be blamed for what he did? He had motives. People always do. But his motives were good ones, surely. For him. For others it was not as much so. For others, this was a living nightmare. One they could not wake up from. One they might not survive.

7. Chapter 7

A/N: I love all of your guys' feedback! Thank you so much! School has started up again and got in the way, so I tried my hardest to get this out as soon as I could. Which, turns out is today! I hope you all understand my new schedule! And know that as long as you all keep reviewing, I will of course strive to get my chapters out the quickest I possibly can.

And I apologize for any typos! I barely have time to get this chapter out, and while I'm typing I'm juggling quite a few things. So it was very hard to accomplish. I hope that if there are any glaring ones, you'll be understanding and point them out kindly? Thank you~! :)

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Usually today was…lighter. Putting it a little blandly. Today was supposed to be that way, of course. You were supposed to give thanks— that part was even in the name. But there wasn't much room for Aunt Cass and Tadashi to be grateful for anything at all. What were they supposed to treasure? The fact that the house was so quiet now? The fact that nearly every night, the two of them stayed awake until near one in the morning, hoping that the phone would ring with some kind of news? That they almost couldn't bring themselves to talk to each other, because they couldn't speak over the absence that was between them?

A week. A week and three days.

Hiro was still gone.

And now it was Thanksgiving.

…What were they to be thankful for?

Aunt Cass was in the kitchen, checking on the turkey for the millionth time this past minute. Tadashi looked over at her; a frown was weighing over his face, and he knew that she was just on-edge. It was the same reason why she sometimes washed the dishes twice now, or why she mopped the floor when she'd just mopped the other day, or why she asked if Tadashi had done his chores twice in the same hour. She was just apprehensive, and he couldn't blame for her being so. But, in the attempt to try and lighten the mood as best he could, he turned and offered her a smile from where he was stirring the potatoes. "A watched pot never boils, Aunt Cass."

"Yeah; yes, yes, I know," she mumbled quickly, drawing away from the stove with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry, I just…I just don't want to burn it." She sighed and looked down at the ground, getting distracted for about five seconds. Tadashi's smile wavered a little bit, and he started to open his mouth to try something else. Anything else would be better than nothing. But before he could manage it, there was a series of pattering footsteps.

Honey Lemon stood awkwardly at the top of the stairs, a steaming Tupperware container in her hands. Her eyes were slightly round as Tadashi and Aunt Cass immediately looked over at her. She tried to give them both a smile, but it came across a little weaker than first intended. "I hope you don't mind that I came a little bit early," she said, glancing at the clock. It was four right now. The others weren't supposed to show up until five. "I was thinking that I could help you cook a little bit. If...if that's okay. If you need help, that is." She seemed a little flustered. "I-If you don't need my help, then that's fine. I can just…"

Aunt Cass snapped out of her stupor. It took a second, but eventually she shook herself free of her mental lapse. She recovered a smile, looking from Tadashi to his friend. "No, no, that's fine. Welcome! Ha—" She broke off a second, as if she was second-guessing herself on the date. Or…something like that. But she brightened again. "Happy Thanksgiving!" Tadashi shoved his hands into his pockets, looking a little disconcerted. But his aunt just shook her head. "I'm actually glad you came! I was just wanting to go out and buy some soda. You can watch the turkey if you like. That way Tadashi won't burn the mashed potatoes."

Tadashi blinked, tilting his head to the side. "You didn't buy any yesterday?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, no. I was going to, but I got sidetracked." She turned and offered him a weary smile. "But I can run out now and get it. It's not a problem. Honey Lemon can help." Honey Lemon nodded early at this, turning and putting down her plastic container and weaving around to deposit her coat on the living room couch. Aunt Cass went over to Tadashi, having to get on her toes to plant a small kiss on his cheek. "I love you," she reminded him sweetly. Tadashi smiled, trying not to notice the fact that this new goodbye was becoming a habit for her. "I'll be back in a flash."

Tadashi offered her a kiss on the cheek as well. She smiled and turned, shrugging on her jacket and fetching her keys. Honey Lemon took to standing beside him, the two still and quiet as they watched her leave. They stayed in such a way, too. They didn't even glance at each other until Aunt Cass' footsteps faded away completely, and there was the small echo of a door shutting.

Tadashi cleared his throat as he turned back to the potatoes. He stirred them a few times to make sure that the bottom wouldn't be burned through. Silence weighed between them— a weight that Tadashi was beginning to be very skilled at holding up. Honey Lemon turned and checked the turkey. He turned with the motion, his eyes softening a little in humor. "You really don't have to do that," he said. "She's just a little paranoid at the moment. It's find to just run with the timer." It still had forever left to cook properly. If Aunt Cass would persist in opening and reopening the oven, it would never get done.

Honey Lemon perked, seeming confused. But she took her friend's word for it and stepped back, making sure that the oven door was shut tight. She turned and smiled at him. "She seems to be doing much better," she offered, already knowing that the effort was probably fall a little bit short. Tadashi looked over at her; underneath his gaze, she felt the need to continue and elaborate. "With the whole situation, I mean. She's handling it really well. You both are," she added hastily. "At least…probably better than most people would be."

There was a beat of stillness. Tadashi blinked, and seemed to hesitate enough to properly draw in what had been said. Honey Lemon was almost afraid he hadn't even heard, as the pause seemed to go on for forever. But then he grinned. "Yeah, of course. We're, uh…we're doing fine. Yeah. I mean— you can't just mope around. That won't fix anything, you know?" Honey Lemon started to reply, brightening a little at the reply. But Tadashi wasn't finished talking, apparently. "You just have to look on the brighter side. That's what I've figured recently, I mean. And it's been working a lot better for me. It's better than being sad. You have to be hopeful. That things will work out. Right?"

Honey Lemon stuttered a bit, caught off-guard and wondering whether or not she was supposed to respond exclusively to each question he'd asked. If they could even be considered questions in the first place. "Uh— right. Yeah! Of course!" she gushed sweetly. "Yeah, you're completely right! I'm really proud of you for thinking that way, actually! It can't be easy, and I think that shows that you're very mature about what's going on." She smiled softer. "That's very strong of you, Tadashi. I really admire that."

His smile wavered just a little bit. Honey Lemon immediately noticed the small quiver, and she felt a wave of concern and worry come over her. She started to take a small step forward, but Tadashi cut her off a second time as he spoke again. "He'll turn up eventually, right? It's not a big deal. There are posters everywhere, they've got people looking…it'll be any day now. Any second, and that phone will ring. So there's no point in worrying or stressing ourselves out." He turned and stirred the potatoes again. "Everything will be fine. It's not worth worrying over."

Honey Lemon wasn't as reassured this time. Her face fell— his voice sounded softer. Thinner, somehow. Her expression clouded, and her eyebrows pulled together a little bit as she cocked her head to the side. Her stare was apprehensive, to say the very least. "Tadashi?" she asked. Her friend was never one to conceal emotions. He was very forefront with everything, usually. But recently, he seemed to be closing off more and more. When they went out to eat lunch, he didn't talk as much as he used to. Everywhere, really, he was blank. And when he did try to appear upbeat, it was always forced-looking. She crossed her arms over her chest, seeming upset. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Tadashi took his time in replying, just staring down at the pot he was watching. Honey Lemon walked closer, her eyes slowly narrowing. Eventually, Tadashi replied. But it was clear that his voice was soft and weaker than usual. He shrugged, and smiled again— a smile that couldn't manage to reach his eyes. "Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, I'm just…I'm completely fine. Of course. Why wouldn't I be? It's going to be fine. Just…all of it."

Honey Lemon frowned. She reached over reluctantly, looking unsure about crossing a line or something. But regardless of her hesitations, she put her hand down on top of Tadashi's own. He jerked in surprise at the gesture. He turned, his mouth opening as if he was about to spit something out. Honey Lemon offered him a sympathetic smile. "Tadashi…" she said softly, her voice hardly above a whisper. "We know, okay?" Tadashi didn't say anything, his mind blank as he just stared at her. She ducked down a little bit. "It's hard. It's really, really, hard. And you can admit that to us. Because we can help you. That's what friends do, you know? That's what we're for."

Tadashi just stared at her. Disappointed, Honey Lemon was beginning to think that he would just disregard her efforts like he'd fallen into the habit of doing recently. But then again, she had never been as forward as this before. Still, she was braced for her friend to reject her regardless. But he didn't. Tadashi stared at her a few moments more. Then he blinked, looking down at the ground and swallowing hard. His face seemed to flush an unpleasant color. He ducked his head, closing his eyes tightly. His hand curled into a fist, and Honey Lemon realized that his shoulders were beginning to shake. Her eyes widened a little bit, and she began to feel a wave of guilt clog at her throat.

Tadashi inhaled sharply. He turned to hold himself up against the counter as he hung his head. Honey Lemon bit down on her lower lip and reached out to press her hand comfortingly against his shoulder. He shook his head in a jerk. When he spoke, his words were thick and congested. His face was getting even redder, and his expression was crumpling in on itself, like a building that was losing its foundation, and could not stay standing.

"I can't…" Honey Lemon fought the urge to flinch away as her friend gasped sharply a second time. Her heart was twisting into a painful knot as she listened. Tadashi went on, despite the difficulty that was plaguing his speech. He pushed off the counter, reaching up and rubbing at his eyes, which were starting to water. "I can't stop worrying!" She closed her eyes tightly, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know where he is! I don't know where he is, Honey Lemon!" He raised his voice into a shout at this. He dropped his arms and looked at her with huge eyes, looking at a loss for anything and everything. Tadashi's lower lip trembled, and he took a small step forward, gesturing harshly. "I've known where he's been ever since he was born! Now he could be…" He shook his head, swallowing hard a second time. "He could be dead somewhere, Honey Lemon! It's been a week! Usually they find people by now!"

"I know, I know, Tadashi." She reached over, taking both of his hands and holding them tightly. She couldn't offer much solace or support. Only the police could do that, by telling the family where their missing member was. Until then, there wasn't much at all. But she would do all she could to keep herself trying. She wasn't about to let her friend suffer like this; she was true to her words. She bent over to try and catch his eyes, offering him the most encouraging smile she could manage. Though sadness was raw in her eyes at the same time. "It's awful, and it's something that nobody deserves to go through. But you've got to believe in Hiro. He's smart. He's so smart, Tadashi— he takes after you." She felt her own eyes prick and burn at the sight of her friend. "And I know for a fact that he is going to do everything he can to get back to you wherever he is, because you're such a good brother. It'll just take some more time…"

"But even if he does get back!" Tadashi yelled. He rubbed at his forehead, looking exhausted and worn-out. He closed his eyes, his expression turning sickened. "I've researched stories, Honey Lemon! Stories about people who— who get kidnapped or just disappear and show up later! They're not— they're different. They're not happy, they're traumatized…" He broke off, a choked sob working its way out of his chest at the fact. Honey Lemon cringed away from the point, but she wasn't about to try and interrupt him. "I can't think of him like that! He's happy, he's smart, he's— he's Hiro!" He sniffed, struggling to clear his throat. "I just want him back," he whispered, his voice coming out broken into pieces. "I want Hiro back…what if I never get that?"

"You will, Tadashi," Honey Lemon reassured at once. She searched his face anxiously. "You will, okay? You and Aunt Cass will. You've got to know that. Hiro will come back. And even if he is changed, you know for a fact that everyone will pitch in to help." She smiled and forced her voice to be more upbeat, her voice lightening into what she hoped was teasing lilt. "He won't stand a chance against us! Right?" Tadashi offered a wavering smile in reply, and she smiled, grabbing his hands again and giving them a soothing squeeze. She nodded earnestly. "We'll help him. Just like we'll help you now. Trust me. Trust us."

Tadashi's eyes flickered over to her. They were still watering, shining with water that caught the light overhead. He smiled, though his grin was far from steady. His face was flushed, and it was clear that there was still a haunting sort of pain hanging over him like a veil. But he seemed comforted for the moment. He held tight to Honey Lemon's hands for a few more moments before pulling away to rub his face clean. He sniffed, grimacing and offering an embarrassed laugh. "I probably…I probably let the potatoes burn," he said, obviously trying to change the subject.

Honey Lemon's expression softened. "They're probably fine," she said, taking the hint and turning towards the Tupperware container she had brought. If Tadashi didn't want to talk any more about the subject, then she would not pry. Not right after she had just finished, that is. "I made stuffing for later," she said brightly. "It'll probably need reheating by the time we eat, but I figured it would be rude of me to walk in here without bringing along something. So I hope you like it. It certainly took a while to make."

She started to prattle on a little pointlessly. About the classes that she was taking and what she had been doing over the recent break now that she finally had some time to breathe without homework crowding her. Tadashi listened; he didn't offer much to the conversation. He was just a silent audience. But it was to be expected, and so Honey Lemon didn't try and wriggle out any sort of cooperation. She let it lie where it was. Just kept on with her story.

"…So anyway, in the long run I aced the test. So I guess there wasn't any point in worrying over anything, but still. I was awake for probably twenty-three hours; it wasn't a very pleasant experience. I wouldn't recommend doing anything of the sort." She offered a small laugh, acutely aware in the back of her mind that the one-sided silence was chafing and uncomfortable. She was worried that she had crossed a line with her friend. She was worried that she had upset him even more than he already had been, or dragged something up that didn't he hadn't needed to focus on right now. He was fine before— had her lack of thought led her to make the whole situation even worse?

She started to draw up the nerve to ask. She wasn't sure what exact words she would use, or whether or not it would help things or just drive them into further complication. Fortunately, she didn't have to, though. "Honey Lemon?" She turned as soon as her friend started to say something. A smile was wavering over her features; she wasn't sure whether or not it would be an appropriate reaction. Regardless, she did meet his gaze, her eyebrows raising in a questioning look. He hesitated, but when he spoke next, his expression melted into one of gratitude. "…Thank you. For…for listening, I mean."

She felt a wave of relief at the simple words. She nodded once and beamed. "Of course." Her reply was instant. "Anytime at all. We're always here to help. Always have been, and always will be. That'll never change."

Tadashi smiled. There was still a sadness in his eyes— Honey Lemon didn't think that that emotion would leave until Hiro was finally able to come home. A lot of what was happening right now wouldn't change until Hiro got back, if she were to be brutally honest. Aunt Cass was getting more and more paranoid and scatterbrained by the day. And however much effort Tadashi put into making himself seem stronger than he really was, Honey Lemon saw that he was hurting. Until Hiro got back, she couldn't see how anything could budge from where it was being etched into stone.

But at least they would have support. They would be able to pull through all of this. Maybe not easily, but they would still be fine. Tadashi's friends would never let him down, and that was etched permanently too.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Hiro was trying to get better at distracting himself. Usually it wasn't something he was inclined to do. He liked focus, he liked stability. Distractions weren't an ideal thing for him to do, back in his old life. He always had to have something to drive for, otherwise he would go crazy of boredom. But now, he was left no choice whatsoever. He had to give himself distractions, and he had to try and do everything but focus. Just to save himself from truly going crazy. Not from boredom either. He was afraid of losing complete sanity. Of slipping away without any warning just to wake up one day and realize you're deranged.

All of this fear, and it was only a week and three days into it.

But then again, with that line of thought, it brought up the idea that there would be more days…longer days…days that would never seem to end, and would to stretch into infinity. The thought was enough to send his skin crawling, and he tried not to linger on it as best he could. That was his new plan. He tried not to linger on anything. An idea he usually opposed, now he clung to for dear life. It was a security blanket of sorts, though even that didn't really do enough justice to describe how much he needed such a mindset.

Hiro had been moved down to the dining room. He was sitting in the chair he had been put in that first night he had tried to escape, his good leg tied to one of the posts with the same chain from before. Well— he'd been here the first and last night he had tried to escape, that is. The house was filled with the aroma of cooking food, and it was a haunting reminder of what today actually was. Hiro was trying not to think about it too much. About what Aunt Cass and Tadashi might be doing right now. Were they celebrating Thanksgiving without him? Or were they just sitting in silence, trying not to look at one another?

He blinked rapidly and looked down at the table, grabbing his thoughts and tearing them away towards something else. It was much harder to do than he thought it would be. There wasn't many safe things he could move his mind to without straying into darker, more frightening paths. So he was currently trying to think of any random fact he had shoved away. Anything else he could focus on.

Between 1900 and 1920, the Olympics considered Tug-Of-War an actual event. A baby can cost their parents about 250 hours of lost sleep within the first year of birth. Google was originally named BackRub. The most shoplifted food is candy. Only female mosquitos will bite you. The Q in Q-tips stands for quality, and their original name was Baby Gays. It was all useless information he had on hand just because he found such information wildly interesting as a little kid. He used to hoard trivia books and try to amaze and wow Tadashi with such pointless facts. He grew out of it, of course, but it was still there.

And so now he was utilizing this build-up of information to provide himself something else to think about. He grasped for the information, and when he found it, he lingered over it for as long as he could. Wow. What a surprise. I can't believe that the Olympics made Tug-Of-War a real event. I wonder who won a gold medal there. I was never really good at Tug-Of-War. I never had enough strength for it. And I definitely wouldn't be that great at it now. I probably couldn't even win Tug-Of-War right now if it was with a three-year-old. And oh, what was that other thing? A baby can cost parents 250 hours of sleep within the first year of birth? That sure is crazy. I wonder how much sleep I costed my parents back then. I'm probably paying for it now, though. How many hours of sleep have I lost so far being here? Going by the way I feel, I bet it's been—

It was always like that, though. No matter how hard he tried to put his mind on a different track, it was already rerouted back to where he was now. He couldn't get free of it. The whole situation was like a cobweb; as soon as he tried to get himself out of it, he realized that it was still stuck fast. He couldn't get rid of the clinging webs. Hiro jerked and shook his head to clear it, cutting ties with the musing altogether. It was just making him feel worse, he was slowly beginning to realize. Pretending that everything was fine was almost as pathetic as wallowing in self-pity, wasn't it?

But then again, if that was the case, then he wasn't sure what other alternative he had to go to.

There was a set of footsteps in the other room— the kitchen, where it branched off from the dining room that Hiro was in. There had been noise in there all day, now. The sounds of pots and pans, which were accompanied with the smell of cooking food. A typical, normal sound for today that was still enough to set Hiro on-edge. He was sitting tensely in his chair, looking up now to listen a little bit closer. What was Callaghan doing? Was he almost done?

What would happen when he was done? The thought of food sent Hiro's stomach into spasms and twists. He wasn't hungry; he hadn't been hungry in forever, it seemed. He was acutely aware of the effect it was having on him. He was exhausted, no matter how much he slept. And, reaching out slowly in front of him as if to see for himself, Hiro could see that his hand was still laced through with tremors and shakes every so often. He didn't exactly feel his hunger— which was weird. And it should probably be a little bit concerning, too.

But at the same time, it was hard to be worried about something like that. After all, he had another problem in front of him too— one that was a little bit more of a priority to be wary of. And as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Hiro perked, realizing that the footsteps, before pacing in the kitchen, had now turned to branch out towards the dining room. Towards to where he was sitting.

In his lap, Hiro's hands clenched together tightly. Nervousness began to flood into his gaze, a sense of fear pushing up at his throat. The door in front of him began to open, and hurriedly, Hiro forced himself to calm down before Callaghan could enter the room. He wouldn't help his case if he showed such blatant paranoia at the mere arrival of him. Or…more accurately, it was because he just wanted to keep just a little bit more dignity. There wasn't much left— it was hard to keep some in a situation like this. Call him stubborn, or just downright stupid. But it was what he was resolving to do.

Callaghan came into the dining room through the swinging door. An array of smells wafted in after him, though Hiro wasn't inclined to let his mind linger on such a trivial part of what was going on. Instead, his eyes just drilled up to the other, keeping his slightly-shaking hands hidden underneath the table. He didn't say anything, but apparently it wasn't needed. Callaghan was already taking the initiative to speak first. "Sorry that dinner is taking so long, Hiro," he said, immediately smiling as he looked at the boy still sitting where he had left him. Hiro didn't react, just watching him carefully. He smiled and started to take a seat across from him. "But it'll be good. I promise."

Hiro was tight-lipped. Callaghan sat down with a small sigh and leaned forward a little bit. He seemed excited and eager, and it took a conscious effort from Hiro's side not to cringe or look away. "…It's our first holiday together," Callaghan reminded him pointlessly. Hiro just blinked at this. He still remained mute. This didn't seem to faze Robert, though, who went on just the same. "Though this one isn't as big as next month's." Hiro tried not to show the fact that his stomach was slowly knotting them more this went on. "Abigail loved to go all-out for Christmas. We had so many traditions we shared together…and now we can do them. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Hiro looked down at the table. He thought for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on into minutes and hours. At first, he was just trying to find out what he should say in reply. He couldn't stay silent for long— he knew that by now. Callaghan would get frustrated and from that point on, it was a gamble to know what could happen. But gradually, he blinked, a sense of realization turning to tug at him and pull his attention elsewhere.

He kept studying the table. In his lap, concealed from view, his hands knitted tighter together. He forced his voice to stay steady and collected, despite how quiet it did manage to come out. "Yeah…" he mumbled softly. His eyes flickered up to look at Callaghan; sure enough, his captor was still looking at him intently. Trying not linger over the detail, Hiro took in a small breath before moving on. "I was just…uh…thinking. About…about that."

Callaghan perked, like he always did when Hiro took initiative to have conversation. Or at the very least, speak and carry on a line of dialogue without being forced to. "Thinking?" he mused, his eyes brightening at the notion. Hiro bit down on his lower lip, but he managed to nod once. Callaghan leaned forward even more, his fingers locking together as he rested his arms on the table. "Thinking about what?" he prompted, when Hiro did not make a move to elaborate. "Go on, Hiro. We have some time before I go back into the kitchen. I would love to talk about whatever is on your mind."

Hiro's eyes flickered back down to the table again. He took to gnawing on the inside of his cheek, fighting the urge to wince. He had to keep himself together as much as possible. He cleared his throat before he spoke, trying not to let his words come out thick or constricted. "I…uhm— I've been here for…more than a week now." He had to stop after this left his mouth. His voice broke slightly over the time period, and he had to cough again to correct the hiccup. He had a point to this. "And…I just…realized something. About…us."

Callaghan looked like someone had just placed a present in front of him. "You did?" he asked, a smile spreading quickly over his face. "And what did you realize?"

He kept himself as engaged as possible. Hiro dragged his eyes up from the wooden table, forcing himself to meet Callaghan's gaze. There was a sense of repulsion with the contact, but Hiro shoved it down. He couldn't focus on it. He tried to offer Robert a smile, hoping that it looked more genuine than it felt. "I was just thinking that…well, you know so much about me." Be careful, he warned himself. Be very, very careful. "You know a whole lot about me, actually." He kept up that smile. "And…I don't know, I just thought…maybe it would be a good thing for me to know more about you."

That was good, right? Prodding, but…hopefully not prodding enough to be noticed…

He waited with bated breath for Callaghan to respond. Predictably, and to Hiro's vast relief, the man was intrigued and encouraged. Why wouldn't he be? It was normal enough, the way that Hiro put it forward. And with everything else that had happened, it seemed to-the-book. This entire time, Callaghan had been pushing for some kind of reaction from Hiro's end. Some kind of positive turn in this twisted situation. Now, Hiro seemed to be extending forward that exact thing. "Hm…" Callaghan hummed softly, his eyes softening somewhat as he surveyed Hiro. "Well, I don't see any problem with that at all," he remarked, Hiro trying not to show his mental respite too blatantly. "After all, how many times have I said so far that this whole thing was a give-and-take?"

It was true that he'd said something along those lines. So far Hiro wasn't really seeing physical evidence of that idea, but he figured that if he voiced such a thought, he'd be pretty screwed. So he just pasted on a wider smile and nodded again. "Right. Yeah, that's…that's right." Underneath the table, his hands started to wring apprehensively. "I just…would like to know more about you. I think…it would help a little bit. After all, I'm…" He started to swing his good leg, and his voice weakened a little bit as he finished quietly: "…going to be here with you for a very long time."

Callaghan's grin turned into a beam with this last part. It had been what he'd been waiting for this entire time, wasn't it? Audible or physical agreement? Wasn't that what this was? "Of course!" he said, his voice immediately brightening just like his expression. "Of course, Hiro! I'm very glad that you thought of this! It'll do wonders!" Hiro smiled in turn, the gesture seeming fragile— weaker than it had been before. But Callaghan didn't seem to notice. "What would you like to know?"

Again, the cautionary voice was back. Be careful. Don't do anything stupid; please… "How about…what your favorite thing is?" he asked, putting forward the first thing that he could think of. This reminded him of all those 'Ice-Breaker' games that schools would play during the first few days. Where you went around the room and tolerated playing these dumb question things just because you knew that, at least for this semester, you would be stuck with these people and would have to interact with them at some point in your life.

This was turning out to look like it would be the same kind of deal.

Callaghan laughed at the question. At first, Hiro thought it was because of its simplicity. After all, it didn't take a genius to land on something like that, did it? But when he replied, Hiro realized that the humor wasn't necessarily because of the question's origins. It was more because of the question's more obvious answer. An answer that should have been foreseen, if Hiro was truly focusing on the situation at hand, and not about being careful. "My favorite thing?" Callaghan asked. He smiled, tilting his head to the side and looking tenderly across the table at him. "Well…of course, my favorite thing was Abigail." Hiro's expression grew tense and a little wary. "But…but now my favorite thing would have to be you, Hiro."

Well, I suppose you can't get upset over that. Hiro's own voice echoed in his head, trying to sound fair and detached from the situation. If you'll be honest, you kind of did just walk right into that one. Fair enough; alright. He did his best to forget that one. He had to move on with it. "And…what about your favorite food?" he asked weakly, trying to find a groove. He couldn't go full-on without some kind of lead-up. Clearing his throat, he added a little awkwardly, hoping to help himself: "You…you know that mine is spaghetti." It wasn't, but that was beside the point. "So…what's yours?"

Callaghan grinned. "I enjoy a good meatloaf every now and then. Maybe I could teach you how to make some. Abigail used to love for me to teach her how to cook. It was never very big dishes though; she was always more involved with school." His grin widened. "But see, you don't have to worry about school, do you? We have all the time in the world to spend together. We can do anything we'd like."

Hiro felt sick. But he smiled nonetheless, forcing it to be as bright and as bubbly as he possibly could. "Sure; of course," he relented softly. But then he paused, swallowing and pulling his eyebrows together as he went on, allowing thought to leak into his voice. "But…I guess you and I both know that that isn't…technically true. Right?" He looked at Callaghan carefully, trying not to appear as on-edge as he really was.

Callaghan's face fell at this. His lips were pulled into a frown, and he looked at Hiro closely now. "Why do you say that, Hiro?" he asked, his voice sobering now. He sounded serious— not spilling over in joy or excitement anymore.

Exhaling in a slow sigh, Hiro continued steadfastly. He couldn't stop short now. "Well, you know, we can't spend forever with each other," he pointed out. "You're always gone on the weekdays. When you go to work." It was hard to sound nonchalant with this. His voice wavered slightly, and he started to swing his good leg a little bit more, trying to give himself something else to focus on. "And…I don't even know where you work. You've never told me."

Where do you work…?

Callaghan grinned again, recovering the expression, much to Hiro's relief. "I suppose that's true," he said. "But I've got to work. We can spend time together when I get home, can't we? The workday isn't very long. Though I have to admit that I would much rather be here than there. Hands-down." He started to get up, turning to head back to the kitchen, most likely. "But I'm here now, and we can spend today together, can't we? But right now I have to get back to the food. Thanksgiving wouldn't be good at all if there was burned food on the table."

"You aren't…going to tell me?" Hiro asked, keeping his voice light and airy.

Callaghan blinked and stopped. He tilted his head again. "Tell you what?"

Hiro shifted a little in his chair. "…Tell me where you work," he said lamely. The piece of information wouldn't be much in the grand scheme of things. He'd much rather have information like…where this address was, or what part of the city they were in. How far away was Hiro's home? But all of those questions were probably much too intrusive. Callaghan would get suspicious right away. But if he tried little by little like this…that would be enough. Right? He could gather more and more information until maybe he could figure something out. Have a better chance of getting out of this whole situation.

When the other didn't reply right away, Hiro added for good measure: "…It interests me."

"Hm." Callaghan seemed to think over this for a moment. Hiro watched, his stomach a hard knot as he waited for a reaction. Anything would be better than nothing, wouldn't it? He replied after a moment of thought, smiling once again. "I'm a teacher, Hiro," he said brightly. "I teach young people about robotics. What else would I do? You know me."

Hiro kept up his smile. His hands were still turning over and over in his lap. Quietly, knowing full well that he was pushing his luck, he asked further: "Where do you teach, then?" Was it an elementary school? Was it a high school? Was it a college? Each varying stage could mean worlds of difference, if he ever tried to do anything. Though, he wasn't sure what 'anything' entailed at this point. All he knew was that the days felt like layers stacking themselves on top of him. The more time passed, the more he felt crushed— the more he couldn't breathe. He had to be thinking of a way out. He had to— otherwise he would go insane. "What grade?"

Callaghan just smiled. He held Hiro's gaze for a few silent moments, in which Hiro had to make a conscious effort to stay still and look only mildly interested. It stretched on for a while, and Hiro started to grow nervous. He couldn't manage to keep in such an aloof manner for very much longer. However Callaghan spoke after this hesitation. "I have to finish cooking, Hiro. I'll be back soon."

Hiro's face fell at the subtle rejection. He blinked, opening his mouth as if he was about to try and explain himself. A dull thought as it was, considering there wasn't much he could be blamed for anyway. He could just blame it on random interest, though he was sure that both he and Callaghan knew that Hiro wasn't prone to that— not here. Or at least he never showed the inclination. He could blame it on just warming up, but after selling it this far, he wasn't sure how much longer he could go on.

Thankfully, he didn't need to. Before he could get out a single syllable, Callaghan had already turned and went back into the kitchen. The door swung shut behind him, and Hiro found himself alone once more, silence filling in the room and providing isolated company to Hiro, who was still tied back to the chair by his leg. He blinked, looking down at the ground with a heavy expression. He reached up and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes with a grimace. A frustrated noise started up in the back of his throat.

What did you expect? he asked himself. It was a dumb effort. Where did you even think was going to go, huh? Getting out of here isn't going to be simple. All you did was probably make it seem like you're up to something. Way to go, Genius. You really hit the ball out of the park, didn't you? It's way into the stands, now. The crowd is cheering, and you're standing there like an idiot.

He whined, rubbing at his eyes before dropping his arms in defeat. He stared off distractedly, his shoulders hunching in something akin to pain. He could have just screwed up. Majorly.

He relapsed back into his previous efforts. He tried to distract himself. From wishing he could go home; from wanting to curl up in a ball and forget everything else around him; from feeling the tight grip of the chain around his ankle.

When you die, your hair still grows for a couple of months. There are ten human body parts that are only three letters long. The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache. Every year about 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced…

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

It was a few hours later. There was a plate of untouched food in front of Hiro; while he had tried to mess with its contents and try to make it appear eaten before, he had given up on the prospect a long time ago. There wasn't much point anymore. Before, Callaghan had tried to be engaging and forceful— he'd urged Hiro to eat and take part in a conversation that the boy wasn't even paying attention to or could recall the details of.

But that was at the start of the dinner. Now ages had passed. It had gotten dark outside, and Hiro was growing sore from sitting in the same position for so long. Callaghan had been drinking. Now, Hiro was only a fourteen-year-old kid; he wasn't too educated on the idea of alcohol, other than the fact that it tasted disgusting, and he was ninety-nine percent sure that all adults were in on some kind of conspiracy to make it seem good. But even he was pretty sure he knew when there was such a thing as 'too much alcohol.' He was thinking it was after about a few glasses of wine.

Callaghan was on his sixth— Hiro had been counting.

If he was nervous before about his captor's character, he was even more so now. He'd given up on trying to make his food appear eaten, withdrawing instead to watch Callaghan out of the corner of his eye, biting down on his lower lip. Callaghan was talking still; he'd been doing so ever since he sat down. Though the speech had just gotten worse and worse the more glasses of wine he ingested. Now he was on some other tangent— the conversation wasn't even flowing or pertinent anymore. To be honest, Hiro hadn't been able to focus away from his apprehension in order to keep track of it all.

"And then once it starts getting warmer, we can go on some walks," Callaghan was in the middle of saying. Hiro was studying the wood of the table, his expression heavy and his eyebrows knitted. He didn't reply; Callaghan had stopped looking for responses, though. "Not in the backyard, though— I know this nice little forest path that hardly anyone goes to. We could probably go there and be alone for quite some time." He repeated himself, a habit that was slowly becoming more and more apparent. "Hardly anyone goes to it. It'd be a perfect place for us to go on walks." He broke into a fit of giggles, rousing Hiro enough for the boy to glance up with a frown. Lowly, he added, almost to himself: "Or a good place for other things."

Hiro folded away a little bit, his expression clouding over as Callaghan fell into more laughter. Whatever he meant in respect to that, it seemed to crack him up. His captor took another long drink, and Hiro was struggling to get himself to relax again. He caught his lower lip beginning to tremble, and he cleared his throat enough to raise his voice into a shaking mumble. "I want to go to bed," he announced, his hands moving to clench his knees tightly.

Callaghan perked. "What was that, Hiro?" he asked.

He swallowed hard, but got himself to repeat the request. "I said I want to go to bed. If you could…unlock me? I'm just really tired, and I just really want to go to bed right now." His eyes went over to the now-empty sixth glass. He had no idea what to expect, but upon regarding history, he was automatically anxious. With Callaghan being the way he had been, Hiro was cautious— what would six glasses of wine do to make that even worse? He wanted to leave. But he couldn't. Not with this stupid thing around his ankle. Anxious enough, he went so far as to add: "…please."

Callaghan's reply came as predicted, and Hiro tried not to show his growing frustration too much. "You can't leave yet, Hiro; it's Thanksgiving!" Hiro bit down on his lower lip and tried to nod along. He looked for a means of getting out, but it was pointless— he knew that much. Panic was slowly beginning to fizzle into life underneath his skin, and he started to focus on breathing in and out evenly. If he kept his breathing under control, then maybe he could keep himself from completely breaking down. It was fine, he told himself. So far everything was fine. Or— as fine as it could get by now, he should say. "You still haven't said what you're thankful for this year," Callaghan moved to remind him. Hiro closed one of his eyes in a wince, and he did not speak. Still, the other pressed: "It's a part of the day, Hiro. You've got to share."

Hiro stayed quiet. He closed his eyes tightly, his lower lip shaking all over again.

Callaghan must not have noticed his growing fright. He just pressed again: "Hiro, share! I'm all ears. I'll always be all ears for you."

Hiro inhaled sharply, the breath hitching in his throat. When he spoke next, his voice was much thicker and quieter than it usually was. "I don't…" He wracked his brain, trying to get it to work. He had to come up with something, didn't he? You're fine, he tried to tell himself. You're completely fine. He hasn't even touched you yet. You're fine. Stop getting worked up over nothing, okay? Calm down— chill out. You won't be able to keep yourself sane if you keep on this way…

But despite however hard he tried to force himself to take a step back, he was shot down. The other half of him, the half that was slowly unraveling and beginning to take over more and more each day, was more distracting. It's been more than a week, that half stressed, unable to be stopped. More than a week. How do I get out of here? More than a week…there's no way out. I'm going to be stuck here…stuck here and wasting away…he won't let me leave…where are Aunt Cass and Tadashi? Why haven't they come to find me, yet?

A pained noise leaked from his tightly-closed mouth. He reached up to bury his face in his hands, his expression folding and crumpling as he found that he couldn't hold himself back from a sob. Callaghan instantly straightened with the reaction, turning and starting to get up to his feet. Catching the sign, and feeling his chest tighten even more, Hiro tried to recover himself as best he could. Just the thought of having him come closer was enough to curb his stomach. "N-No, I just— I'm fine, please don't—"

Callaghan wasn't inclined to listen apparently. He rounded the table and veered for Hiro, his steps rushed but noticeably less coordinated. Hiro's throat swelled, and he tried to object again. But the effort was just as pointless as when he had tried to get out of the chain. Callaghan pulled out Hiro's chair, moving him so that he could put his hands on either of his shoulders. He bent down low so that he could look at Hiro's face. He would have rather met his gaze head-on, but the boy's eyes were remaining tightly closed. "Hiro?" he asked, Hiro's stomach dropping as he recognized how slurred his syllables seemed to be. "Hiro, what's the matter?"

Hiro tried to lean out of his grip as inconspicuously as he could. But his hold was too tight to do anything of the sort. He was stuck. Again. When was he not, anymore? He shook his head, trying to clear it. "I just…" He was grasping for something to say— it was suddenly much harder to accomplish than it probably should have been. He finished lamely, spitting out the first thing he could bring to mind. "I don't have anything," he whimpered eventually. He opened his eyes, however reluctantly, and looked up to Callaghan with an injured expression. His hands were shaking in his lap by now. His voice was just as quiet as he whispered: "I don't have anything to be thankful for."

Callaghan's face fell briefly, almost in a sense of confusion at first. Hiro sat in silence, not even daring to breathe as he just stared at his captor. He was afraid that such a confession would be too much, and cause the other to snap. It would happen— Hiro was sure of it. The waiting was part of the reason he was coming so undone. But to Hiro's surprise, and ever-growing stress, Callaghan just smiled. He tilted his head to the side and looked over Hiro with something akin to humor. Hiro just stared back, tears marring his fearful expression. "Come now, Hiro," he said brightly. "Of course you do!"

Hiro didn't say anything, starting to lose his grip on his steady in-and-out breathing.

Callaghan's grin widened, silently encouraging the boy to respond. He raised his eyebrows, when the silence stretched on. "Hiro, don't be sad!" Hiro flinched again and started to duck his head— all he wanted to do was hide away his face. But Robert was not about to let him do such a thing. He leaned over before Hiro could fold away, grabbing at his chin and forcing it back up. "No, no, no!" he shushed, his voice turning gentle and almost consoling. "It's alright! Look at me, look at me. You're alright; don't worry." Hiro was shaking from head to toe now, but he could do nothing but listen and obey. Callaghan smiled. "You know that you can be thankful for something!"

Hiro sniffed pathetically. His eyes flickered down to look at the floor.

Callaghan's smile began to drop. He leaned down even more, forcing Hiro to meet his gaze. "Hiro, you're smarter than this!" he prompted. "You don't need me to tell you, do you?" Still Hiro was mute. He just stared off to the side, his jaw locked backwards and his face growing warm underneath his flow of tears. Callaghan cleared his throat, the man beginning to grow impatient. The thought slammed into Hiro's gut, but he managed to brace himself against it. "Hiro. You can be thankful for this! For us! For everything that's going to happen from this point on!"

Hiro whimpered. He hunched his shoulders, and for a second, he was debating on just going with it. It was the safer thing to do— it was probably the smarter thing to do, really. Had he any sense, he would have just nodded his head and smiled. But something kept him from it. Maybe stupidity, maybe pride. Regardless of it, he shook his head. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes again. "No," he sobbed out, sniffing hard and reached up to wipe at his eyes. "No, I can't. I can't, I can't." His voice was shaking just as much as he was now. He tried get his shoulders out of Callaghan's reach. To no avail. "I just want to go home. That's all I want…it's all I want. Please…please just let me go home."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey…you are home!" Callaghan reached out, drawing his hand through Hiro's hair in what was probably supposed to be a comforting gesture. He brought up his other hand to press it against the side of Hiro's face, providing solace, but at the same time forcing Hiro to keep looking at him. Hiro mewled, completely losing control of his breathing the second he was touched. He wanted to get up, he wanted to run away. He would be willing to claw off his own leg, if only he could crawl out of here. "Shhh…don't cry, Hiro, don't cry," Callaghan soothed. "You can be thankful for this— you can. I want to hear you say it."

Take it back. He's giving you a chance. Just agree. Agree with him!

"I can't!" Hiro yelled, nearly spitting out the words. "I can't say it! I just—"

He was interrupted before his plea could finish. "Hiro." Callaghan's voice was turning stony, and Hiro realized that his expression was following suit. "Just say it," he said, the words coming across as more of an order than an inspiration now. "Say that you're thankful; I know you are, however much you try and make it seem like you're not. So go on— you can say it now."

Hiro refused. He just sniffed again, feeling like someone was stabbing him in the chest. He didn't look at him.

Again, the smarter side of himself was screaming obscenities. But he was keeping deaf.

Callaghan's voice was flat now. "Hiro. I want you to say it."

The boy cringed, starting to duck away. But as soon as he started to lean back in his chair, Callaghan's hand, still fast in his hair, suddenly wrenched into a tight fist. Pain immediately split through him entirely, and the boy jerked, inhaling sharply at the unexpected agony. Before he could cry out, and almost before he could really realize what was happening, Callaghan turned to slam the boy's head down on the table. The dull thud rattled in his skull and shook it to the core. His vision exploded in white, and absolute agony wrapped around him.

He was winded at first, just heaving as he tried to gasp in as much air as he could. Tears built faster in his eyes, streaming down his face now without a single pause. Blinded by pain, Hiro started to do the only thing he could at the moment— scream and cry. But before he could, Callaghan seemed to register the wish. He used the hand that was not clenched in Hiro's hair and slammed it down over his mouth. It effectively muffled the screeches of pain before they could even begin to exist. Regardless of the fact that he could not be heard, Hiro was desperate to release his pain in any way that he could. So he just screamed into his captor's palm, his eyes squeezing shut tightly as more tears were forced out.

His head spun. He couldn't tell up from down. His stomach curled, and he felt like he was going to be sick. His senses were muffled underneath the blow, but Callaghan was close enough, and spoke slow enough, for Hiro to make sense of his words. "Hiro, I am a continuously patient person. But you are making all of this very hard to do."

Hiro only sobbed, his body heaving. It felt like nails were being driven straight into his head.

"Why would you want to go back there?" Callaghan asked, his voice laced with venom. Hiro couldn't reply, already just struggling to gather himself back up. So he went on anyway, his voice still slurred and sloppier than usual. "They don't care about you like I do! If they loved you, don't you think they would be looking for you?" Hiro choked, blinking rapidly to try and clear his vision. "They don't care that you're gone! They would rather you never come back home. What kind of family is that, Hiro? If you left, I would spend the rest of my life trying to get you back!" Hiro broke down at this, shivering as he tried to let out another shriek. But Robert's hand still bottled the shout back. "They don't care about you— why should you care about them?!"

He loved them. He wanted to go back because he loved them and he missed them. He wanted Aunt Cass to hold him and make him feel safe, and he wanted Tadashi to ruffle his hair and call him a knucklehead. He wanted to cuddle up with Mochi, and he wanted to just feel okay again. He didn't want to be here. Hurting and hating and second-guessing even himself.

Callaghan's words felt like a knife through his heart. It wasn't true. They were looking for him. They were.

…Right?

There was silence for a long moment. Hiro suffered through his newfound agony, trying to remember how to breathe correctly. Callaghan just kept his head planted to the table and his mouth covered. Eventually he spoke, his words coming through gritted teeth. "You wanted to know where I work?" he asked, his grip in Hiro's hair increasing even more. Hiro yelped, going into a spasm. But he didn't dare try anything. He couldn't even bring himself to bite down on his hand— he was just frozen in place.

Callaghan took the silence as a reply in itself. He bent down a little lower, making sure that Hiro's head was flush against the wood. "I'm a teacher," he repeated, Hiro fighting the urge to curl away as his voice snaked down to his ear. "I teach at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology." The name instantly clicked with Hiro. Not only as the place that he had heard Abigail flaunt in her home video, but more importantly, as the place where his brother went.

Every. Day.

In his laps, his hands clenched, his nails digging deep into his palms. He began to hyperventilate, trying to wrench himself free with no success. Callaghan only held him tighter with the struggles. Still having a vice in the boy's hair, he lifted his head just to slam it back down again. He scattered whatever brains Hiro had managed to gather again. The boy fell completely still, his eyes wide and foggy as he was forced back into shock from a secondary blow. "I guess you don't have to be told what that means," Robert hissed.

Hiro didn't even blink. His gaze was almost hollow as tears continued to collect on the dining table.

Callaghan went even closer. Looking for a reaction, he gave a sharp tug on Hiro's hair, which was still much shorter after its cut. The boy squeaked immediately, a sharp gasp eliciting in response to the pull. "Tadashi Hamada is one of my students," Robert elaborated. "A bright boy— not as smart as you, but he's a close second." Hiro's forehead creased and he bit back anther scream. "I see him quite a lot, Hiro. I take every single opportunity I can to have a conversation with him.

"He's very hardworking. Even now. He finishes all of his work before class is even released, sometimes. Not distracted at all. And I see him with his friends all the time— hanging out…having fun." He offered a dramatic frown that was clearly not meant to express remorse or guilt. No; instead, it was menacing. It was mean, and cruel. "It's almost like…nothing's changed," he said, mimicking thought. "Isn't that a little weird? Because…going off the way you're acting…you would think that he would feel upset that you're not home."

Hiro flinched, giving out a heartbreaking sob.

Callaghan leaned down even closer, his voice curling in rage now as he was less than an inch from Hiro's ear. "He doesn't care about you," he snarled. "Neither does your aunt. They both could care less where you are; they're not trying to find you at all. Don't you get it? You might as well be dead to them, by the way they're acting."

Hiro whined pathetically. It wasn't true. It wasn't true, it wasn't true, it wasn't true. It couldn't be. They were looking for him. They were upset, they were just as broken up as he was. They thought about him just like he thought about them. They needed him too. They wouldn't ever just cast him aside.

He told himself all of this in a straightforward manner. It was elementary.

But it didn't stop him from falling into another pit of panic. He broke down again, whatever walls he had managed to salvage crumbling down immediately. Like a pitiful child, he broke down into uncontrollable sobs. It was like an eggshell cracking— he couldn't keep the yolk from spilling everywhere. He just shattered. And by this point he wasn't going to even try and fix it. Rather, Hiro just drowned in it. He choked and gagged, his arms going around his stomach in a painful manner.

This seemed to jar Robert out of whatever lull his mind had been put in. He straightened, standing back up almost out of surprise. He let go of Hiro's hair, the painful prickling in his head subsiding at least in magnitude. But it certainly lingered, even when the man pulled back. "Oh, Hiro…I know," Robert cooed gently, moving so that he could wrap his arms around Hiro instead, pulling him up off the table and back into an upright position. He forced Hiro to turn and face him, the chain scraping against the furniture in the process. "I know it hurts now, I know. The truth can hurt sometimes, can't it?" He held one side of Hiro's face, rubbing his thumb soothingly across his cheek. Hiro continued to seize and cry in an inconsolable fashion. "But the pain will go away. I promise. I'll make the pain go away. I'll make all the pain go away…"

Hiro couldn't even look at him. He kept his eyes shut, barely managing to cry without sound.

Callaghan leaned over, pulling Hiro close into an embrace. He held him bracingly, as if he was taking all of Hiro's pieces and trying to push them back together. He started to rock him gently, Hiro feeling one of Robert's hands start to make reassuring circles on his back. The boy's head was forced to rest on his captor's shoulders. He tried to ignore the stench of wine, and that fact that he was so close to Callaghan in general. His stomach was in knots, and amid his cries, he had to force himself not to succumb and get sick on the spot.

"It's alright. I know. I know it hurts now. But it'll go away," Callaghan whispered, changing to take his hand and stroke it through Hiro's hair. He ignored the way that Hiro tensed and hissed at the contact against his new sore spot. "But it's alright. Because I'm here. I've got you. And I love you. I do. I care about you, and I'll keep you close. You don't need them anymore. We've got each other."

Absolute silence followed this.

Ages seemed to pass.

Callaghan turned, planting a kiss on top of Hiro's head, near the spot he had grabbed in order to slam him to the table. Hiro flinched, his teeth gritting so hard that they ached. Robert only hummed in happiness.

"Hiro?" he asked eventually, breaking the quiet.

There was another delay. "…what?" Hiro's voice was a dull rasp, devoid of…anything at all.

The question should have been foreseen. "What are you thankful for, today?"

Hiro cringed, as if the inquiry was yet another blow. Fresh tears welled up to sting at his eyes. He choked back another swallow. He thought of all the times that Tadashi had swooped him up, swinging him around until Hiro was shrieking to be let down. How many times he used to crawl into his older brother's bed whenever he had a bad dream as a little kid. Or the nights that Aunt Cass had tried to teach him how to cook only to have it end rather badly. Or all the hugs he had given her before rushing out the door. All of the memories he had with them.

He shattered again. But this time he was resolute. Despite the fact that his head was pulsating, and his eyes were burning, and he felt like he was being stabbed, he forced himself to reply. He could not help the fact that his voice was constricted— that ship had long since sailed. But at least he got something out. Something he probably should have gotten out in the first place. It would have saved him so much trouble…

He didn't have a lot of dignity left. So saying it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

That was probably a bad thing.

"…I'm thankful for you," he whispered listlessly, his expression empty as the words passed his lips.

A sound of joy came from Callaghan with the reply. His arms wound even more around Hiro, and he began to ramble out of ecstasy. "I know you are, I know," he cooed, sounding far too happy— far too excited. "I love you so much. You're perfect; we'll be perfect. We will. I promise. You won't even remember those awful people. I'll be right here for you, I swear. I'll never leave…"

Robert went on. Hiro wasn't listening. He just tried to keep as quiet as possible, staring off into space with an empty expression. He didn't try to wipe at his burning eyes or brush away the sticking tears from his cheeks. There wasn't a point in fixing something that would just get even worse. Just like there wasn't a point to stick up to Callaghan. This was all it got him. Pain and heartache. Fighting against the chains…trying to talk back…all so stupid. So idiotic.

So…hopeless.

He kept being cradled. Rocked like an infant for ages that stretched on. He lost track of time, and he wasn't about to try and break away. He just sat, limp in Callaghan's arms as he tried to think of Tadashi and Aunt Cass. Not the way that they had been described to him— uncaring and selfish and completely oblivious to where he was. But how he hoped was the truth— kind and concerned and waiting for him to come home. Because that was the truth…wasn't it? It had to be. Otherwise…otherwise he wouldn't know what to do at all.

Hiro didn't know what dying felt like.

Obviously.

But he knew that it had to feel just as painful as this.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: Sorry if the ending is awkward. Like always, any issues with plot I will consider overlooking! It's just that it's nearly ten at night and I have homework and studying for two quizzes tomorrow. I've gone so long without an update and I've been stressed and worried over when the next one would be. I'll be very open to fixing typos and even points if there are issues— I have a bad habit of never really liking what I type lol. Especially when chapters are long like this.

I hope you like it and I hope it's halfway worth the wait! lol

I'm SO excited for the next couple of chapters though! SO excited! :D

I hope you're just as anxious to see what happens next! And I hope to hear from everyone again! Just like before, once reviews come in, I'll make the same kind of effort to get out a chapter. Hopefully it won't be as hard next around though CX