"I'm so sorry, Hiro…I'm so sorry."
"Get back out here! I don't want that kid making a racket and alerting any neighbors!"
"He won't cry…he knows me."
"I don't care, the minute he makes a peep, I'm putting a bullet in his skull."
"Just shut up and finish the job!"
"Whatever."
"Hiro…please know that this was nothing personal, okay. I never wanted to hurt you. You're a good kid. You'll find a nice family member to watch you. Don't worry, I won't let them kill you too."
"Done here! Let's go!"
"Just give me a second!"
"God, what a sap."
"We're leaving in 60 seconds, move your ass!"
"Okay, I'm coming!"
"Should we kill the kid? I mean…he kind of saw everything."
"NO! I am not putting this on my conscience. We agreed to rob the place and kill the parents, no babies."
"What's the big deal, he's a stupid baby, either way we're in the clear."
"Will you two just shut up?! We are not killing Hiro!"
"Fine, whatever, we're out. You coming or not?"
"I'm coming, just…ten seconds."
"Fine."
"Hiro…I don't know if there is someone out there who loves you…but I can't help that. Listen, I'm sorry, I'm going to let you out of your crib. Maybe you'll have a fighting chance. You're just a baby and you don't know anything yet, but…I don't care so long as you know I'm sorry. Okay…well…bye Hiro."
…
Tadashi opened his eyes and saw Hiro still fast asleep on his chest. He looked over to see the TV was still playing the discovery channel and the book he'd been reading was now on the floor. He hadn't realized he'd even fallen asleep as he tried preparing for his next lesson, but wasn't surprised. It rained heavily outside making the sky gloomy and dark. He looked over to see Dopey lying down on the carpet contentedly. Hiro moaned and clutched Tadashi's t-shirt tightly. Tadashi rubbed his back and then looked for the time, only to realize that it was close to dinner time. He decided some leftovers would work just fine. He lifted Hiro's hair to check on the bandage and was relieved to see the swelling was staying down and Hiro was recovering from the gash to his head.
He rubbed his eyes and yawned, wishing he could sleep a little longer, but had a feeling Hiro would wake up soon anyways.
"No…" Hiro mumbled in his sleep.
Tadashi smiled and began to rub Hiro's head gently. He'd heard the little guy talk in his sleep before but it was usually just some basic words like "no", "Dashi", or "candy". It was never anything serious, and Hiro was just so adorable when he slept.
Hiro mumbled some more words and jerked in his sleep before slowing his breathing and calming his body down.
Tadashi rubbed his head one last time and then slowly got up. Hiro was still dead asleep so he covered him with a blanket and left to go heat up some leftovers.
He heard the thunder start rumbling and made sure to keep an eye on Hiro as he put the leftovers in the oven. He wondered if turning up the TV was a good idea, it was just a Mythbusters episode that Hiro really enjoyed.
The wind began to blow heavily, the tree branches swaying slightly and Tadashi braced for the thunder to pass from right overhead. He walked quickly to Hiro, glad that he was still asleep and dry. He flinched when the thunder cracked loudly, practically shaking the house.
Hiro finally opened his eyes and Tadashi was a little surprised to see that Hiro merely blinked a few times and then looked up to see Tadashi sitting next to him. The relief Tadashi felt was short lived when the lightning started. Hiro blinked and sat up rigidly. He quickly looked over at Tadashi and then breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that Tadashi was still there and was real. Tadashi himself took a breath at Hiro not having any accidents.
"Hey, Hiro, did you have a good nap?" he asked, hoping to stay positive despite the rain and thunder still occurring outside.
Hiro rubbed his eyes and crawled over to Tadashi, "No." he croaked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you have a bad dream?" Tadashi asked in a soothing voice as he let Hiro crawl into his lap. He patted Hiro's back gently and rocked him a little. It was actually North who had given him that suggestion before he'd left the hospital with Hiro. Apparently, Hiro's mother was a licensed massage technician as well as a certified acupuncturist. She would find Hiro's pressure points to help soothe him when he was a baby and found that rocking him or bouncing him lightly on her knee really helped calm him down. Hiro also preferred being patted lightly more so than rubbing all the time.
It seemed to work as Hiro relaxed further into Tadashi, "Yes."
"Those aren't fun." Tadashi nodded.
Hiro quickly stuck his thumb in his mouth as though he were trying not to remember it.
"Look, they're shooting cheese out of a cannon in this episode!" Tadashi tried, hoping to get Hiro's mind off of the dream.
Hiro perked up at that and smiled watching the show. Both he and Tadashi laughed as the cheese flew out of the cannon and actually blew a hole in a ship's sail.
The timer on the oven went off and Tadashi set Hiro down to get out the food. Hiro seemed content now as he watched the show. Tadashi wondered if eating on the couch was a good idea, especially since the storm was still raging outside.
He made his decision as Hiro continued to giggle maniacally at the show. He poured juice in a sippy cup and cut up food for Hiro and took it to him. He smiled as Hiro ate everything off of his plate and appeared uninterested in the storm outside. Tadashi only hoped the power didn't go out or that would be the end of Hiro's relief from his fears.
Tadashi decided to attempt finishing his lesson before it was too late and he had to pull an all-nighter. Hiro for a while let the TV distract him but once Tadashi was on a roll and finishing up his lesson he could feel Hiro tugging on his shirt or poking him. Tadashi would look up only to see that Hiro was merely trying to get his attention and nothing more.
"Hiro, let me finish my work first, then we can play, okay?" he promised.
Hiro would look dejected but would focus once more on the TV letting Tadashi get back to work.
Hiro tried a new tactic that involved shaking his sippy cup around or banging his plastic fork on his plate.
"Hiro!" Tadashi said a little more sternly, "If you won't be quiet then you need to go play in your room."
Hiro blinked a couple of times and then stopped, sitting down and acting innocent.
Tadashi once more got back to finishing his lesson when Hiro began to laugh loudly on purpose and jump around on the couch. Tadashi grew more frustrated and concerned, being that Hiro still had his stitches to worry about.
"Hiro, sit down and behave or you will go to your room!" Tadashi ordered, trying to keep his patience.
Hiro stuck his tongue out at Tadashi and shook his head, "No! Dashi play now!"
"Dashi needs to work. I will play with you once I'm done." Tadashi told him firmly, feeling his blood pressure rise.
Hiro narrowed his eyebrows and finally came towards Tadashi and actually pulled on the book Tadashi held, "NO! NOW!" he cried angrily.
Tadashi finally got up and stood angrily over Hiro, "Go to your room now!"
"No!" Hiro shook his head, glaring at Tadashi.
"Hiro, I will not ask you again, go to your room now." Tadashi said, his face getting red from his anger and frustration bubbling.
"NO!" Hiro yelled defiantly.
Tadashi hated to do this but he picked up Hiro who kicked and screamed, pounding on his chest with his fists. Tadashi made his way to Hiro's room and put Hiro on his bed, "You're going to sit in here and calm down or you won't be coming out, got it?" he said angrily.
"Dashi mean!" Hiro yelled, pushing Tadashi away.
"Yeah, well too bad." Tadashi growled as he walked away and closed the door.
He heard Hiro getting up and running around, banging on things in his room and throwing stuff.
Tadashi sat on the couch and put his head in his hands. This wasn't like Hiro and he knew it, but he had been reading all the books, went to all those trainings and really wanted to do the right thing for Hiro. At least he hoped he was doing the right thing as Hiro started sobbing loudly while banging on the door, "DASHI! I'm scared!"
"Hiro, you can't come out until you behave." He yelled. He looked over to see Dopey looking concerned in her corner of the house, giving him a look. He empathized with her.
Hiro screamed angrily and tried a different tactic, "DASHI! My head!"
"Nice try." Tadashi nearly laughed had he not been so mad.
"DASHI HATE ME!" Hiro yelled angrily and threw something against the wall.
Tadashi wanted nothing more than to go in there and hug Hiro and tell him that he didn't hate him; that he loved him…but he knew that he couldn't do that.
He sighed, wondering how such a nice little evening could go so bad.
Tadashi decided to try and finish his lesson amidst the noise of the storm and Hiro's tantrum. If anything he needed to get his mind off of his frustration and sadness.
He finished quickly, thanking his lucky stars for copy and paste.
He put his books down and listened as Hiro had finally quieted down and his sobs had been reduced to sniffling.
He got up and walked to Hiro's room, prepared to see a mess like something out of a horror film.
No horror film mess, but it was still a mess. Hiro was curled into a ball in the corner, holding his Baymax and rocking back and forth, crying.
Tadashi walked to him, avoiding all the toys in the middle of the room. He got down, resting his hands on his knees as he finally coaxed Hiro to look at him.
Hiro looked up with a painful stare, "Dashi hate Hiro." He choked out.
"No. Hiro I don't hate you." He promised calmly.
Hiro wiped his nose on his sleeve, "I don't hate Dashi."
"I know you don't." he said softly, hoping he didn't start crying as well. He needed to be firm and strong.
"I was bad." Hiro admitted.
"Why were you bad?" Tadashi asked him as he got in a more comfortable sitting position.
Hiro shrugged his shoulders and looked away.
"Not a good answer, buddy." Tadashi told him, "Why were you behaving badly?"
Hiro continued to look away, "I don't know."
"Hiro." Tadashi said in a stern tone, "That answer is not acceptable in this house. I know you know. You are a smart kid and you will not get away with those words in front of me. Now why were you bad?"
Hiro gave Tadashi an almost aggravated look, like Tadashi had totally found him out.
It took him a minute but he finally mumbled something.
"Speak up and speak clearly." Tadashi ordered.
Hiro jumped a little but finally spoke up, "I wanted Dashi to play with me."
Tadashi nodded, "And what did I tell you that I was doing?"
"You were doing work." Hiro answered, sounding a little more grown up now.
"Yes. But I told you that once I'd finished I would play with you, didn't I?"
Hiro nodded, his bottom lip trembling.
"You were put in here because you would not listen and you acted disrespectfully."
"I didn't-!" Hiro protested.
"You stuck your tongue out at me, told me no, told me you hated me, and threw your toys around your room." Tadashi said, holding up his fingers one by one, "Do I need to go on?"
Hiro shook his head, looking down.
"As punishment, no gummy bears tonight-"
Hiro looked up in shock as though Tadashi had just killed the cat.
"And…" he continued, "You are going to clean this room up and go to bed early."
Hiro pouted and crossed his arms.
"You do this tonight and tomorrow will be a fresh start." Tadashi promised.
Hiro looked up at Tadashi as though begging with his eyes to reconsider. Tadashi stayed firm though inside he was twisting his guts.
Hiro stood up and wiped his nose once more on his sleeve and walked past Tadashi to start cleaning his room.
Tadashi stood and then waited in the doorway for a few minutes to watch Hiro pick up his toys. He left to go clean up the living room, but mostly to release his breath that he'd been holding and to let out a few tears. He would never let Hiro see it, but when he told him he hated him and gave him those sad looks, Tadashi was reminded a lot of himself growing up with Aunt Cass. He remembered at one point yelling angrily at her that she wasn't his mother and that she couldn't tell him what to do. He changed his tune when he saw the hurt in her eyes and realized how much he'd lowered her self-esteem even though she punished him accordingly. She was never truly the same after that and Tadashi began to treat her with a lot more respect. Tadashi had that ability to really feel what other's felt and didn't want to experience it again. He rubbed his red eyes and finished cleaning.
He turned when Hiro appeared behind him and said his name softly.
Hiro stood there, holding his hands in front of him nervously and looking down, "I finished, Dashi."
Tadashi got down and took his hands in his own, "Thank you Hiro."
Hiro looked up with watery eyes, "I'm sorry, Dashi. My fault."
"No. Hiro, don't say that." Tadashi nearly choked, "You got into trouble but you made it better, that's all that matters."
"I want to stay with Dashi." Hiro cried, tears pouring down his face.
"I want you to stay with me too, buddy." Tadashi said, not hiding the fact that he was starting to cry as well, "I just want you to make good choices."
Hiro looked up at Tadashi, "Dashi…are…you crying?"
"It's fine, Hiro, don't worry about that. Listen I'm-"
Hiro actually flew forward and wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck, "I'm sorry, Dashi!" he kept repeating.
"It's okay, Hiro." Tadashi repeated over and over again as he tried to control his crying.
Hiro finally kissed Tadashi's forehead and looked at him, "I love you Dashi." He told him with the most adult look in his eyes.
Tadashi actually stopped crying to see that expression on Hiro's face. He was a kid, a baby, and yet…he was so smart and incredible.
Tadashi smiled at him and wiped his eyes on his own shirt sleeve, "I love you too, Hiro. I always will."
Hiro smiled back and then took Tadashi's hand to show him that he'd cleaned his room. Tadashi rewarded Hiro with a game of fighting robots and then read him at least five bed time stories.
Hiro was back to his usual self by the end of the night when Tadashi tucked him into bed with a smile.
"Dashi…?" Hiro asked as Tadashi was getting ready to get ready for bed himself.
"Yeah buddy?" Tadashi asked from the doorway.
Hiro looked away for a minute and bit his lip before looking back at Tadashi nervously, "Will you be my daddy?"
Tadashi's eyes widened in surprise and he had to hold onto the doorway for support, "Y-yeah…buddy, of course I'll be your daddy."
Hiro's bottom lip shook again, "I don't want you to die."
"Hiro…why would you say that?" Tadashi gasped as he walked back to Hiro's bed.
"Because my last daddy died." Hiro said simply.
Tadashi nodded sadly, "Don't think like that okay, I promise you I'm not going anywhere."
Hiro reached up to hug Tadashi's neck once more and then let go, "Can I still call you Dashi?"
Tadashi frowned a little, "Hiro, it's okay to call me Daddy or Dad."
"I don't want to. You're Dashi. Daddy died, but Dashi won't."
Tadashi felt his heart breaking into two but he nodded nonetheless. Of course Hiro wouldn't just be able to call Dashi daddy overnight, he knew it would take time, "You can still call me Dashi, but…when you're ready…you can call me daddy, deal?"
Hiro looked away at first but then looked back into Tadashi's eyes and nodded. Tadashi could tell Hiro had made up his mind but he was only three, he could change his mind. How he wanted to tell Hiro over and over again that he never needed to be scared again, that he would protect him and love him forever, but he knew that Hiro needed this; he would be patient.
"I promise you buddy that no matter what," he stated firmly, "I will always be here and I will always love you. Don't forget that."
Hiro smiled, "I know."
"I know you do." Tadashi smiled. Hiro was, after all, a very smart kid.