Brothers
35
Ages
Hiro: 4 ½
Tadashi: 17
This was a request from FluffAndStuff. They wanted to see Hiro get lost in a public place. I actually wanted to write something I was thinking of, so I just decided to incorporate that idea in here somehow. Hope you like it
Normal POV
"Dashi look! I'm a fwog!" Hiro chirped, splashing and hopping around in some water. Tadashi stopped cleaning his moped to see that Hiro was playing around in the dirty water and he was torn between scolding the boy and laughing at him. Laughing won out when the elder saw such joy in Hiro's eyes.
"I'm a good fwog, wight Dashi? Look how high I can hop!" Hiro cried, jumping up on all fours.
"Yeah kiddo. You're the definitely the happiest frog I've ever seen." Tadashi said amusingly.
"Hop with me Dashi!" Hiro suggested, patting at the muddy water he was hopping around in.
"You know what? I actually need to finish cleaning the moped, so how about you just keep on hopping?" Tadashi asked.
"Okay Dashi. But huwwy or all the watew will be gone!" Hiro pressed, continuing his jumping.
Tadashi smile fondly and suddenly sprayed the water in Hiro's direction. Surprised, Hiro fell on his bottom mid-hop and shielded his eyes. Tadashi instantly stopped the hose, afraid he might've hurt the younger boy.
"Hiro?!" he asked, rushing to his side.
The next thing the seventeen year old knew, his face was decorated with murky water and he sported an unamused expression.
"Now Dashi's a fwog too." Hiro said, sounding so proud of himself, Tadashi couldn't help but smile down at him.
"Guess I am, huh?" He asked. Hiro beamed at him.
"Yeah! B-but, what about the moped?" Hiro asked, sounding guilty.
"Well I guess it's all your fault that it isn't clean, now isn't it?" Tadashi asked accusingly, hiding back a snort.
Hiro looked down guiltily. "I'm sowwy Dashi." He said, sounding ashamed. His lip was poked out in a pout and Tadashi nearly melted. Hiro shaming was probably the most adorable thing he'd ever seen, but he couldn't mislead the poor kid forever.
"I'm only kidding bonehead, it's not your fault." He said, pulling Hiro in for an affectionate noogie.
"Ah! Gwoss! No Dashi! Fwogs don't like people touching they'we heads!" Hiro exclaimed, swiping his hands away. "Well this frog should." Tadashi replied, pinning Hiro's hand together with one hand, and ruffling through the crow's nest of hair with the other.
Hiro giggled and attempted to move away with little success.
*Page Break*
"Yeah, I know he seems fine, but I'm worried." Tadashi said over the phone.
"Well, he didn't say anything yet, did he?" Gogo asked over the other end.
"No. he didn't. He doesn't understand that they're gone."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"What is he questions where mom or dad is one day?"
"Worry about that when it happens."
"But what if it happens now?!
"Listen Tadashi. Woman up and take a breather. When are you coming to San Fransokyo again?"
"Our Aunt Cass is coming to get us in a week at most. I already shipped our luggage over there and she should be getting it."
"Good. For now, I think you should focus on making sure the munchkin's happy. Maybe tell him you're taking a fun trip before you leave America."
"That's a great idea. Thanks Gogo. I can't wait to actually meet you in person."
"Likewise. Bye."
"Bye." Tadashi said, hanging up.
"Who was that?" Hiro asked in curiosity.
"That was my pen pal, Gogo." Tadashi explained, leaning down to Hiro's height.
"Who?" Hiro asked, wrinkling his nose.
"You know. The girl who we video chatted with a few weeks ago? The lady with the purple streaks?" Tadashi asked, hoping it'd ring a bell.
"Oh! Scawy lady." Hiro said hugging his teddy bear to his chest. Tadashi burst out laughing, causing Hiro to smile sheepishly.
"Nice one. I've gotta tell her that." Tadashi said, wiping tears away from his face.
"Dashi?" Hiro asked nervously.
"What's up?"
"Why did you pack youw bags? And my backpack? Awe we going somewhewe?" he asked.
"Yeah bud! We're going to San Fransokyo! It's gonna be great." Tadashi explained.
"Why?" He asked, clutching his teddy bear tighter. Clearly, he wasn't too open to the idea.
"No, this is a good thing Hiro. It's going to be a lot of fun. Hey, there's even a café there." Tadashi said smugly.
"So?"
"So, that means cake and cupcakes almost every day." Tadashi said temptingly.
"What about gummy beaws?" Hiro asked.
"I'm sure they have some over there. If not, I can ask my friend here to ship us some." Tadashi promised.
Hiro still didn't look too convinced, but he didn't want to disappoint Tadashi so he cracked a feather light smile to show he was okay. The older boy took this as a good sign and sighed in relief.
"Great. I'll go order a pizza. Extra cheese, your favorite." Tadashi said, patting Hiro on the head.
*Page Break*
Hiro's POV
I didn't want to go to San Franksokyo. I wanted to stay here. Didn't Dashi want to stay too?
I stayed in my room, afraid that if I sulked in front of Tadashi, he'd be upset. I didn't like it when Dashi was upset, he looked a lot better when he was happy.
"Hiro? Pizzas here." I hear him call.
"Coming!" I cry out, clutching my teddy bear close to me. I quickly get up from my bed and head to the kitchen, hoping Tadashi wouldn't catch on to my gloomy mood.
When I got there, Tadashi had a content expression and I didn't want to ruin that, so I did my best to smile at him when he gave me my pizza.
"This is really going to be awesome. Maybe you can be a little praying mantis instead of a frog." He said with a bright smile.
I wrinkled my nose at this proposal.
"Pwaying mantis?" I asked uncertainly.
"Yeah! It's a cool bug that's also kind of vicious. Like you." He says teasingly.
"But you don't call me you'we wittle pwaying mantis. You call me you'we wittle fwog." I say while staring at my pizza, unable to consider his suggestion.
He looked a little upset at my words and put his pizza down.
"Hiro, if you want to keep being a frrog, you can be. Nothing has to change." He promises.
"Except where we live." I mutter.
"What?"
"Nothing! This pizza is yummy!" I say quickly, stuffing the slice into my mouth.
"Ouch!" I cry.
"What happened?!" he asks frantically, rushing to my side.
"The pizza was hot." I say embarrassingly.
"Bonehead. That's why you don't shove the whole thing in." He chides, handing me his ice water.
"Sowwy." I say in shame, chugging down his ice water in one go and letting the last sip stay on my tongue for a while to soothe it.
"It's okay. We'll tackle the freezer for whatever ice cream we've got left and that should help with the tingling on your tongue." He says.
"Thanks." I tell him with a grateful smile.
"Anytime." He says, finishing his pizza. Fortunately, that little episode seemed to make him forget the whole stupid praying mantis thing.
"Also, you can try all sorts of new food there. Like all sorts of Japanese food. Isn't that exciting?!" He asks me.
"Like Japanese cheese pizza?" I ask wearily.
His face falls again, and I feel like a jerk.
Then, before I know it, his face lights up a bit. I'm confused, but not complaining because I like it when he's happy.
"You know, Aunt Cass has a cat in her café. A cute little kitten." He says knowingly.
I can instantly feel my face light up into a wide grin and get excited. "A weal live cat?! Like the one you nevew let us have?!" I ask in pleasant surprise.
"Yup. And Aunt Cass said that it's a really sweet kitten. It loves to be pet." Tadashi tell me.
I give him a megawatt smile to show that I've finally found something that interests me about this trip.
"So when we come back?" I ask curiously.
"Well I actually thought we'd stay there a while. Besides, I'm sure you'll love it so much, you'll want to live there." He says, but there's a bit of an edge to his voice.
Now I'm not an idiot. I know that means that we won't be coming back at all and that makes me upset. I don't want to leave this house. I like it here with Dashi.
*Page Break*
Normal POV
"C'mon Hiro, we have to hurry!" Tadashi cries, running around everywhere in the airport, trying to find their terminal. Plans change, people get woken up early in the morning, and shit happens -.-
Aunt Cass said that her café was far too busy and that the boys would have to fly to San Fransokyo all by themselves. It wasn't a problem for Tadashi, but Hiro had never been on a plane and Tadashi kind of hoped that an adult would be with them. On top of that, the poor teenager had to drag along both hand carriers because Hiro was too young to carry his own. He did have his little backpack slung over his shoulder and his teddy bear in his hand, but he kept getting distracted from all the things at the airport, making it extremely hard to both find the terminal and keep an eye on him.
"But why?" He had the audacity to ask. Tadashi had to tell himself to calm down. He was one kiddy question away from a mental breakdown. He had to cloud away my frustration. Hiro didn't need that right now.
"Because we're going to be late. You don't want to be late, do you?" Tadashi asks him patiently. Hiro quickly shakes his head and starts waddle/running behind me to the elder's satisfaction.
"Great. If we just find our terminal, we can still board our flight on time." Tadashi murmurs. Hiro was trailing along with him, but got extremely distracted when he saw a gift shop that had all sorts of candy on display. The little boy rushed into the shop and mentally drooled over the gummies.
He looked around to see if anyone was watching and when he was sure no one was, he grabbed a bag of gummy bears and popped a red one in his mouth.
Chewing in his own gummy world, Hiro didn't notice that the store manager was making his way toward him.
"Young man, did you pay for those?" The man asked, not happy.
Hiro froze and stared up at the man, water coming to his eyes.
"You should know that it's wrong to steal. Security!" The man barks, as two buff men come rushing into the scene.
Hiro's widened and he looked around desperately for Tadashi. Not able to locate him anywhere, he began crying.
"D-Dashi! H-help!" He shouted, trying to doge the security guards.
Eventually, they grabbed him, sending him into panic mode. He was practically strangling his teddy bear at this point and was hyperventilating.
"Where are your parents?" The manager asked in an unfriendly tone.
Hiro whimpered in fright, wanting nothing more than his older brother. He couldn't believe that he had lost him.
"Dashi." He whispered, closing his eyes, attempting to block out all the unfriendly voices and faces.
*pages Break*
Tadashi's POV
"Terminal C! Found it. Thank god. Hear that Hiro? We'll be boarding soon." I say, turning around.
"Hiro?" I question. He was right behind me. I could've sworn it.
I looked all around the terminal before I began having a full blown panic attack.
"Hiro?! Hiro where are you?!" I cry, exiting the terminal to try and find him.
Oh my goodness. As soon as I find the little devil, I'll KILL him for giving me a heart attack. IF I find him! He could be anywhere. What if he boarded the wrong plane?! What if someone took him?! What if he fell off an escalator?! What if-
I really needed to chill.
I thought back to where I last saw him. It was near the bathroom and gift shop. Maybe he went to the bathroom without telling me! That had to be it. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, leaving our baggage in the terminal.
I searched the entire bathroom with no luck. I was debating whether or not I should call airport security to find him when I saw two of them in the gift shop. Figuring they could help, I rushed in to tell them.
"Excuse me?" I say frantically. They turn around to look at me, and one of them has a kid in their hands. I don't have time to focus on whoever that is though, because I need to find Hiro.
"I lost my little brother. I need to find him quick! He's four, has super messy black hair, and has a little teddy bear, also a red backpack." I say quickly.
I notice the kid they've grabbed is fidgeting in their hold.
"Dashi?!" I hear it cry. I look to the kid to see that he's only just opened his eyes and looks beyond relieved.
"Dashi! You found me!" he cried in joy.
"Hiro! Oh thank god you're safe! You're grounded until you die! I'm so glad you're okay!" I cry, reaching for him. He extends his arms out to me too, but the guard pulls him back.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" I ask angrily. I do NOT like seeing my little brother being manhandled by some stranger.
"This little thing stole a bag of gummy bears from this shop." One grunts. The only thing keeping me from losing my cool is the fact that it isn't the one who's holding Hiro that says it.
"Hiro, is that true?" I ask irritably. I really did not need this right now.
He nods shamefully and hold up the bag he was holding in his left hand.
"I'm so sorry about this, but he's only four. He didn't know any better. I'll pay for it, I promise." I say, reaching into my pocket for a loose five dollar bill.
"And a half! Four and a HALF." He pouts as I shoot him a look. He looks down and shuts his mouth after that.
Luckily, the guards let my boneheaded brother go with a warning. We start toward the terminal, while I'm clenching his hand very tightly.
"I'm sowwy Dashi." Hiro says solemnly. I sigh and look at the little booger. He does look pretty sorry. Then I hear his stomach growl pitifully. I mentally face palm myself. In our rush to get to the airport, I totally forgot to feed him breakfast. I ease up on his hand and place the other one on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry too. I should've given you some food. But next time, no stealing. Just tell me if you're hungry, okay?" I tell him with a slight disapproving tone. He needs to know that stealing is wrong.
"Nevew again. I pwomise." He says, crossing his heart in front of me.
"Hiro, where's your bear?" I ask all of a sudden, regretting it later.
Hiro frantically looks around everywhere but can't find it. He even checks in his backpack.
"Dashi! He's gone! I weft him in the stoww! We have to go get him!" Hiro cries, trying to drag me to his bear.
"Hiro, I'm really sorry, but there's just no time. We have to catch our flight." I say. I see his lips start to tremble and eyes become glassy.
"Dashi!" He cries, as if I've sentenced the bear to death.
"Hiro I'm sorry, but we can't. I'll buy you a new one from San Fransokyo. It can even be a frog." I promise him.
"No! I don't want to go! I don't want change! And I don't want to leave America. I like it here!" He cries, throwing a tantrum. I'm receiving all sorts of looks from people passing by and I feel awful.
"Hiro…" I trail off, torn. He snatches his hand away from me in his fit of rage and glares at me something fierce.
"I'm going to get my bear with, or without you." He says, storming off. I'm not about to let him go alone, so I follow him, words unable to form. We go to the shop in silence, even though I want to badly point out that he didn't mess up his 'R's' in his entire dialogue. I wonder if that's completely gone, or if it just went away because he was angry.
Suddenly, Hiro stops in his tracks, but I noticed too late so I crashed into him and we went tumbling to the ground.
"Ouch!" we cry in sync.
"Why'd you stop?" I ask.
He rubs his head and looks at me with half lidded eyes. "Dashi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. Let's just go. My bear isn't important." He says, hands in his lap.
"No Hiro. Let's get your bear and hurry up. We can still make it." I say, trying to believe myself.
"It's fine. You said you'd buy me a new one. I'm holding you to that promise. Now let's go." He says, getting up. I get up too and pick him up.
"Dashi?" He asks.
"You're just tired and cranky from being woken up so early. I understand. I was the same way when I was your age. Now let's go. Together." I say, running to the terminal.
"We'll be okay?" He asks as we're running.
"I actually think so Hiro. I actually really do think so." I say.
"Even if I'm rough around the edges?" He asks shyly.
"Even if we're both rough around the edges." I correct, running faster. He clutches on to me tighter.
"But you have to admit. This will be a great story to tell Aunt Cass. I mean you were so busy trying to find me, that you didn't see me when I was right in front of you." He says light heartedly.
"I can say the same for you, you little knucklehead."
"I still found you first."
"Oh yeah, and you were also the one to shout 'Dashi! You found me' like a little girl."
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"You're a big bully Nii-San."
"Yeah yeah. Let's just get on our plane."