A/N: One down and three to go!...hopefully! I hope you all are enjoying the drabbles. Christmas is literally just around the corner (I'm keeping my eyes on you, Christmas) and things are getting pretty crazy. But that's part of what the season is all about…I guess! Anyway, R&R. Enjoy!

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On the Seventh Day of Christmas: Stockings

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Hiro really, really, really wished he was taller. Being a fourteen year old genius was bad enough what with everyone making fun of him and all of that crud, but being short was just icing on the cake. It was amazing being so short and he absolutely loved it, especially when he needed to get the Christmas stockings that just happened to be on the top shelf of the highest shelf in the part of the garage that Aunt Cass had reserved for herself. It was great! Yeah, right. More like God awful. Even using the stool his aunt had bought specifically for him – because she could reach things just fine…ugh! – he still couldn't reach it. And what made it even worse was that the stockings were in a small box since they were the only things in the box and it was hard to get as it was pushed back.

He planted his feet, which were tired from being on his tippy toes for minutes on end trying to reach the darn things, on the stool and rested his forehead against the shelving. Hiro closed his eyes, squinting them tightly shut so that his tears of frustration wouldn't start tumbling out.

He hated it. He hated being so short and small and puny and weak. At fourteen years old, he should have started to grow, right? Hiro should have starting shooting up just like Tadashi had and his chest and shoulders should have started filling out more, right? Well, apparently, fate had not been kind to him. Hiro was filling out all right, but it was more in the hip department than anything else, much to Aunt Cass' never ending delight – she even called him 'Mini Me' once…again, ugh!

It was frustrating and hurtful. All throughout his school career, Hiro had been picked on and tormented endlessly, ruthlessly, for being so small and short and young and frail-looking. Even now as a college genius attending SFIT with his brother and their friends, there were still people who deemed it necessary to pick on him constantly. Never when Tadashi was around, though; everyone knew about the Hamada brothers and just how over-protective Tadashi could be. But the whispers and looks and finger points were just…just…they were awful. It reminded him of dark days, dark times, and he had believed that those days were long gone.

Apparently, he had been mistaken.

A soft, choked sob escaped Hiro's throat and his fingers gripped the edge of the shelf as he squinted his eyes even more. Don't cry. Don't cry. Do not cry. Do. Not. Cry…

"Hiro! Aunt Cass is wondering what's taking you so long," Tadashi's voice came down the stairs along with his footsteps.

Great. Tadashi was coming down and he'd see Hiro like this, weak and vulnerable and pathetic. Hiro absolutely adored Tadashi and loved him above any and all else, but being brothers…. Hiro knew it was taboo and that some would frown upon them if they knew and that was why he needed to be strong. If he broke down just because he couldn't reach a damn box on the top shelf, then what right did he have to be with Tadashi? Tadashi didn't have to proof himself to anyone, but Hiro… Hiro felt like he did, especially now that he and Tadashi were together. Because he had to be good enough for Tadashi. He just had to be.

"Hiro, what's-" Tadashi's voice stopped as did his footsteps. He had found Hiro and a shameful shudder ran through his small body. Hiro had been found just as he had feared: weak, vulnerable, and pathetic. Dear God, what did Tadashi think of him now…

"Hiro…" Tadashi's voice was soft, like a whispered prayer, like the caress of a lover. And it held more love and affection and understanding than Hiro deserved.

Suddenly, he felt Tadashi's body heat behind him and then arms wrapped themselves around his waist, pulling Hiro back against a broad chest. His eyes snapped open and he was stunned, shocked, as Tadashi pressed his nose tenderly against the back of his neck. He would never get tired of Tadashi's constant show of affection and love nor would be ever get used to it, but he absolutely loved and craved it all the same.

"No matter what happens, Hiro, I'll be here for you," Tadashi whispered in his ear before he reached up and grabbed the box that had their stockings. Hiro turned around and saw Tadashi's familiar warm and loving smile, a smile that was only ever directed at him.

"Tadashi…I…you're…" Hiro struggled to put his feelings into words. He wasn't someone who could easily express what he felt. Thankfully, Tadashi seemed to understand him perfectly, almost as though he were able to read Hiro's mind. There were times when Hiro believed that he could, such as right now.

"You don't need to say anything, Hiro," Tadashi reassured him before he leaned forward and placed a soft peck on Hiro's lips, causing his face to light up like Rudolph's nose. "I would do anything for you, you know."

"You're…you're the best," Hiro said, feeling lame even though that was all he could muster. Tadashi chuckled and pulled him into his arms. It was there that Hiro allowed his body to relax.

"Tadashi…I…I'm…" Hiro began and stopped as the tears he had been keeping at bay suddenly surged forth without warning. He buried his face against Tadashi's shirt and he felt more than heard Tadashi put the box down before he embraced Hiro fully.

"Sh….sh…. It's okay, Hiro. I know. I know," Tadashi said, his voice deep and soothing and full of love and understanding.

The stockings were forgotten as Hiro cried his heart out to the only person he could trust with seeing him like this: Tadashi.