Chapter Fourteen
So much for our three-year secret…Shit, how could this happen? We had been so careful and now…it's all gone. I planned for this though. I was planning on moving out soon but now I had to put my plan into action sooner than expected. I called Fred as soon as I got into my car and he agreed to take me in until I could get my own place. I drove up in front of his place and parked. He met me outside and the second I stepped out of my car he hugged me tight, trying to console me.
"It'll be okay bro. You still have him…you just can't go home." That's when I lost it. I was upset that I couldn't hold Hiro at night anymore and that…Aunt Cass would be so callous towards me. I'm her nephew and she just-
"Tadashi!"
"Hi-Hiro?" I looked up to see Hiro slowly falling out of the air. He kneeled down in front of me, tentatively whipping away my tears.
"I snuck out."
"I can see that. This isn't going to help you know."
"I don't care. She can't keep us apart."
"I know…I had a plan that was made under better circumstances but now…it'll be harder to do."
"What is it?"
"I've been saving money to get a place of my own near SFIT. A nice one bedroom for $649 a month. I was going to move out then have you visit often…but now…things are messy."
"I figured you'd think of something like that eventually. I was saving money to help you."
"Babe…I appreciate it." I leaned in and kissed him and almost instantly I felt tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I don't want you to go…"
"I know…but for now it's what needs to happen. Just…fly under the radar for a while okay? Do as she says."
"Bu-"
"NOT for her…for me. In this situation it's best to just seem compliant. You don't have to be happy around her…just let her think she's won. Give her some time."
"Fine…just because it's you."
"Thank you…we can still see each other at school and I'll drop by your job to keep you company. Hell I can even see you at home because I grabbed my gear."
"You're right. You always know just what to say."
"Because I know you, you're a hotheaded guy but you mean well. You can think through most things once you have time to settle down."
"Like that time with Mika." Fred chimed in.
"But when you need a logical voice when you aren't calm, you have me. You have our friends."
"I love you…"
"I love you too. We'll get through this. I promise." I helped him to his feet and gave him a tight hug. It felt like I'd never see him again but I knew I'd see him at school tomorrow.
"It'll be hard sleeping knowing I'm not in your arms or at least near you."
"I know…I feel the exact same way. I'll miss your hair tickling my nose, the rise and fall of your chest, the contented sigh you let out when you settle into a comfortable spot, I'll miss every second of it." I felt him tense up a bit. "No more tears. Please…" He nodded into my chest. I gently pushed him away to look at him. "Go back…I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Okay…I'll text you when I'm back. I love you." He kissed me for a few seconds before pulling away.
"I love you too. But…I still have this." He backed away and gave me the saddest look I've seen on his face since…since he came to understand what happened to our parents. He pulled the necklace I gave him out of his shirt and gave me a sad smile before he launched off in the direction of the café.
Fred put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on…let's go inside." He helped me bring my things inside and showed me to a guest room. I knew I wouldn't sleep well tonight, not without Hiro by my side.
When I got home, I took off my gear and dove straight into Tadashi's bed. Not long after I heard footsteps on the stairs. "Go away Aunt Cass."
She came in anyway. "We need to talk."
"Go ahead." I turned my face away from her, hoping she'd get the message that I actually didn't want to talk.
"Hiro…you have to realize that what you're doing is…just…wrong. You and Tadashi are brothers. You two can't be together. I'm okay with a same sex relationship but an incestuous one is just…beyond me. I still love you both-"
"Then why won't you let us be happy?" I said as I sat up slowly.
"Because sometimes what makes people happy isn't acceptable. You like bot fighting but got arrested for it. Mika liked Tadashi but almost-"
"WE ARE NOTHING LIKE HER!" I whipped around to look her in the eye. "Our feelings are mutual and sincere. Mika was a stalker. She tried to kill me."
"My point is that I still love you both but you two cannot be together. I can't make you stop going to SFIT but so help me if I even suspect that you are with him I'll call the police."
"You can't. The age of consent here is 16 years of age and last time I checked, as of January 16th I AM 16." Silence. "Aunt Cass we both love you dearly…but we're happy. Since we've been together neither of us has felt depressed, sad, lonely, nothing but happy. I used to cut myself ya know…"
Her face fell. "Hiro…"
"But since Tadashi and I started to open up and talk to each other I haven't been depressed. I stopped cutting a month before I was arrested for bot fighting. Now…we've never been happier. I would tell you but we have an agreement to not tell anyone anything without the other's consent. Just know that yes we are brothers…but we're also the greatest source of happiness in each other's lives. He's the reason I'm at SFIT and have a job, he pulled me out of my rut. We're your only family Aunt Cass…and we just want to be happy. Now please…let me rest." I laid back down facing away from her with my eyes shut. I could still feel the tears welling up in my eyes but refused to let her see them.
"I…I love you Hiro…and I'm trying to do what's best for you."
"Love you too Aunt Cass. Good night."
"Good night…" She flipped off the light before leaving. I felt something snuggle up under my arm and figured it was Mochi. I scratched his back before giving in to sleep and ignoring the tear stains I was leaving on Tadashi's pillow. The last thing I remember was clutching the necklace Tadashi gave me. For the time being, it was the closest thing I had to the real deal…
I got up bright and early for school the next morning. I made my own breakfast, a simple bowl of cereal with toast. When I finished, Aunt Cass walked into the kitchen. I was cordial and spoke to her before grabbing my backpack to leave for class.
"Hiro…" I turned to look at her then froze up when I saw how sad she looked. Even though she was smiling, I could tell she was upset. It looked like she had been crying.
"Yes?"
"Have…have a good day at school. Drive safely. Love you."
"Love you too Aunt Cass." I went downstairs and climbed onto my moped and made my way to school.
As I was riding up to the parking lot, I saw Tadashi leaning against his car waiting for me. I saw his face light up and as soon as I parked the moped, I leapt into his arms. He picked me up and spun me around a few times before kissing me.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too." I leaned against him, pressing him against his car.
He rested his hands on the small of my back. "What happened with Aunt Cass?"
I looked down, trying not to meet his gaze. "We talked." I kept hearing bits and pieces of what she said resounding in the back of my mind.
"Yeah? What did you guys say?"
"She said she loved us but we can't be together. I asked her why she wouldn't let us be happy and she countered with saying some things that make people happy are wrong then…used Mika and my bot fighting as examples." I felt him tense up.
"Go on."
"I went on to tell her that you and I have been happier since we got together…she knows I used to cut myself. She threatened to call the cops but I brought up the statutory rape laws and she didn't respond. I told her that we open up to each other and that we're the greatest source of happiness in each other's lives. I was going to tell her things about you but told her that we had an agreement not to unless we had permission."
"Hiro…are you okay?"
"Yeah…now that I'm in your arms. This morning though…she looked like she had been crying."
"Her armor is cracking."
"Hmm?"
"This whole thing…after what you said…she's wavering. You remember how in training with our gear when we went at it that your blades started cracking and eventually broke?"
"Yeah…In this case your swings are my words and she's my blades…"
"Exactly. What you said hit her hard. Her resolve to keep us apart is weakening. I don't want to but we have to keep pushing her. Maybe if she sees how much everyone else supports us-"
"She'll change her mind."
"Right. We need to talk to the group about this."
"After classes." I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "We don't wanna be late."
After classes, we met everyone in the lab to talk. We gave them the rundown of what happened including the talk between Aunt Cass and myself. Before we could even mention the plan Go Go held up a hand to cut me off.
"I see where this is going. You want us to chip away her conservative views by targeting her emotions and appealing to her humanity. Am I right?"
"Precisely Ms. Tomago. Would you like a gold star?"
"Bite me."
"Emotional warfare hmm? This isn't like you guys, you're both more of the logical types."
"Honey Lemon's right, usually you guys attack a situation logically."
"Well this situation is different. Aunt Cass is emotional, so if we want to change her mind we need to target her emotions…wow that sounds malicious." Tadashi frowned at this sudden realization.
"When your happiness is threatened, sometimes you can't help it."
"Wise words Wasabi."
"So…we have to plan this carefully…it may take some time but it's worth it. We can't just bombard her all at once…we could but she may lash out worse than ever. We'll have to hit her with a combination of blows. Go Go, you're up first. Give her a hard yet tactful dose of reality. Next Honey Lemon, show her your soft compassionate side. Then Fred, show her that our lovable goofball cares and last…Wasabi. You had the hardest time accepting us. You can relate to her, sympathize with her. You'll have the biggest impact and ultimately crack through her armor."
Everyone looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, we're in." Go Go said with a stern face.
Tadashi and I shared a look of approval and nodded at each other. "Alright, we'll break this up into weeks. Week one, Go Go, week two, Honey Lemon, week three, Fred, week four, our ringer, Wasabi. This stands unless she changes her mind after the first, second, or third talk. We'll start next week."
"You guys sure about this?"
"Since when do you get cold feet Go Go?"
"I don't, it's just a new situation." After putting my phone in my pocket, I took a deep breath before walking into the café and taking a seat directly across from Cass.
She looked up from her book and smiled. "Good evening Go Go. Is there something I can help you with?"
I crossed my legs and popped my gum. "Your nephews."
Her face fell. She closed her book and looked at me. "You know."
"I knew about them first and I know you kicked Tadashi out. Look, I'll be blunt, you're not being fair. Yes they're brothers but they make each other happy. Quite frankly I don't care if they're gay, bi, pansexual, asexual, incestuous or whatever. They're happy. As long as neither of them are in jail or going to kill anyone I'm happy."
"Go Go…"
"You know that they've never been this happy? I watch Tadashi, like a hawk. When Hiro was bot fighting Tadashi was at the end of his rope. He was worried and it caused him to slack in school. He cares so much about that idiot. Any pain one feels, it's amplified a hundred times over. When I went to check on him one night, he…well the short version is that I ended up holding him while he cried in my arms. He loves him…he really does. And Hiro…He loves Tadashi too, he threw himself into SFIT to impress Tadashi. He wanted to make up for everything and now…Now he does everything with us in mind. You, me, Wasabi…everyone. Can't you see that they're good for each other?"
"Go Go…I…I know…all the good that's come of this but-"
"NO BUTS! The only hang up with them being together so far is you! Mika didn't know, she was just obsessed with Tadashi. The only bad that will come of this is that they'll face judgment but that was inevitable. They don't care. The only opinions that matter are yours and our group of friends. But if you keep this up…you'll lose them." I stood up and walked out of the café.
"I did it guys."
"Great job."
"You're the best."
I sighed to myself. "I hope this works, Cass…please do the right thing."
After Go Go's talk with Aunt Cass, I saw that she was visibly shaken. He core values and beliefs were being tested and she looked like she was failing. But this wasn't over…I have one more surprise for her.
"Tadashi."
"Yeah?"
"Show time."
"On my way."
"Good luck…I love you."
"Love you too."
Shortly after I sent that text, I heard the door to the café open. I crept down the stairs and pressed myself against the wall, leaning just enough to hear them.
"What are you doing here?"
"My loved ones live here."
"Hmph." Come on Aunt Cass, don't be so cold. He's still your nephew.
"We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say."
"That makes this easier then. Look, I know you don't like what he and I have but we're not going to change. We love each other. You know that we've been happier than ever since we started dating…I haven't been so open with someone in years. We talked about mom and dad, we talked about or deepest, darkest fears, our hopes, and our dreams…even my contemplation of suicide when I was a teenager." I could feel the shock spread over her face. "Yes, I wanted to end it all, but he was the reason I hung on…I didn't want to leave him too…I couldn't do that to him. After he told me about that dream, my resolve strengthened." Tadashi…
"I never knew…I'm glad you didn't do it…I couldn't have handled it."
"Then why are you trying to keep us apart? You'll end up losing both of us if you keep this up. Aunt Cass…we're both strong willed…the last thing we want is to leave you behind because you're standing in the way of our happiness. But I will fight for him…and he will fight for me. The only question is who are we fighting against, you…or society? In all honesty, taking on society with a strong team backing you up is a lot easier…than fighting one of your own." I heard him take a couple of steps then silence. I peered around the corner and saw he was hugging her. She was sobbing into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry…I really am."
"I love you Aunt Cass."
"I love you too Tadashi…" We may not need the rest of the plan now…I still want Wasabi to talk to her next week to cement her position on us but this…is what I wanted.
"Tadashi?" Both of them looked at me. I waited, holding my breath, to see what would happen next.
"Come here." Aunt Cass opened a spot for me between them, I ran over and hugged both of them.
"Does this mean…"
"Yes…Tadashi you can come home."