hey! so remember my story Hurricane? this is what happened after...hiro never got the hip brace off, being a superhero forced the joint into malunion and it didn't heal properly. nevertheless, he's still hiro and is not giving up. and tadashi is a new dad of three...and hiro's getting his bachelor's...and getting ready to propose to megan...all in all, 2036 is a big year for the hamada bros! hope you love this please read and review!
TADASHI
I step out of the shower, a towel wrapped around my waist. I wipe the condensation from the mirror and survey my reflection. Broad shoulders, strong jaw, manly chest.
Oh, and I have what is known as "dad bod".
I sigh and glance down at my abdomen. Ever since Honey and I started having kids, I haven't been able to stop stress eating. Eva was born four years ago, Teddy two, and I can't take it anymore. It's hurting my physique. I mean, my kids love to cuddle me and everything, but I really prefer my manly abs to a chubby midsection. I keep telling myself I need to work out, but it's not like I have time—I'm a professor at SFIT now, and a full-time dad at home, so whatever. I just have to deal with it.
Pulling on my clothes, I step out of the bathroom and discover Honey dancing around the living room with our kids, waving what looks like a small stick around.
Oh no.
That is not a stick.
That is a pregnancy test.
And by the looks of it, it's positive.
"Dashi!" Honey gushes. "We're pregnant!"
"Yay," I groan. "Awesome."
Honey glares at me. "Is that it?"
I hastily backtrack. "Not that I'm not excited! It'll just be a little stressful, I guess. But I'm excited, I really am." I'm definitely excited. It'd just be nice to have a little more warning.
Honey kisses me on the cheek. "That's more like it, babe. I know it's the end of school and everything. Are you ready for work? Do you have your keys and everything?"
I laugh. "Of course, Honey. I'm not that forgetful." I reach into my pocket and discover that I do not, in fact, have my keys. "Ummm…."
Honey smiles and dangles my keys in front of my face. "Looking for these?"
I nod sheepishly and take the keys, then kiss her on the cheek again. "Love you, babe. See you tonight."
Eva and Teddy come over to say goodbye, Eva grabbing onto my blazer and Teddy wrapping his arms around my knees. I lean down and kiss my toddlers goodbye, then head out the door.
As I drive to work in my ancient Civic, I wonder what my next child will be like. I have no preference for boy or girl at this point, so we'll see. And I wonder who we'll name them after—Honey and I have something of a tradition of doing that. Eva's full name is Evangeline Ethel, for Honey's birth name and for GoGo's. When we got pregnant on the one-year anniversary of the hurricane, we knew that she had to be named after one of the heroes we lost that day.
Teddy's full name is Tadashi Hiro, but since either of those would be confusing, with both Hiro and I still around, we call him Teddy. It suits my adorably chubby, sensitive toddler a lot better than my name.
I think our new baby should be named after someone who has actually passed away—then we can have a tribute name as well as it not being confusing. I'll have to see what Honey thinks, though.
I pull up to the school and discover Hiro limping up the sidewalk. I park hastily and run over to him. "Hey, little bro! How's it going?"
Hiro groans. "I'm exhausted. And I ran into the railing yesterday and jarred my hip. It's not happy." He fingers the brace buckled around his waist. I give him a quick hug, saying, "Aw, I'm sorry. Anything I can do?"
"Not really. Not unless you have a rice sock."
I don't have a rice sock, so we continue up the sidewalk into the building. I glance down at Hiro's brace, now equipped with just about everything he needs to get around. But it's not enough.
Hiro broke his hip in the hurricane that destroyed San Fransokyo four years ago, and it never healed properly. He'll never run again, so he uses thrusters on his brace when he needs to move fast. Poor little guy—he should have gotten better. But his work as a superhero forced his hip joint into a malunion, and the bones aren't back together properly. They never will be unless we can afford a hip replacement surgery—and there's no way we'll be able to pay for one. Money is something we don't have a lot of.
I force my mind away from unpleasant thoughts as Hiro and I walk into the classroom, then collapse into my chair behind my desk. The students start to file in and I pull out my lesson plan. Some of the students are being loud and obnoxious, and I rub my temples, trying to stave off a headache. It's going to be one of those days.
Several hours of sweat, blood, tears, and paper airplanes later, I drag myself back to my car, resolving to stop by the café for the biggest box of donuts that Aunt Cass has. I failed earlier to stop a headache from coming on, and now it's a migraine. It's amazing what having a full-time job and many people to command can do to you.
I stop at the café and Aunt Cass gives me a giant box of donuts, which I begin devouring in the car. I save some for dinner, though.
When I get home, Eva is standing next to the cat door, laughing. I look closer and discover that Teddy's chubby little legs are sticking out of it, kicking furiously. I cross the room and pull the two-year-old out of the cat door, trying to stifle a laugh. "Hey, Teddy."
Teddy looks up at me with huge green eyes. "Hi, Daddy."
"Hi. What were you doing in the cat door?"
"Eva dared me to see if I could fit but I didn't weally," he mumbles.
I laugh. "That's okay, Teddy. I know how you feel. You want some donuts?"
Teddy nods and scampers off to the kitchen for some donuts. Eva follows him, reminding her little brother that he can't have all of the maple ones because Uncle Hiro is coming over for dinner and those are his favorite.
I guess Hiro gets to be the first one who knows we're pregnant. We'll see how he reacts. Hopefully he brings Baymax—we might need the Heimlich Maneuver at some point.
Hiro rings the doorbell at around seven, and I discover he's brought Baymax and Aunt Cass. Awesome, but now there's gonna be a lot of gushing from Aunt Cass when she finds out Honey's pregnant.
As I expected, when we tell them, Aunt Cass lets out a happy scream, Baymax declares that he already knew, and Hiro spews his milk across the table. It's no less a reaction than I thought they'd have.
I confront Hiro after dinner—I need to ask him something.
"So, Hiro," I say conversationally. "When are you going to get married?"
Hiro starts to fidget uncomfortably. "Um…the thing is…"
"What?"
"I want to, but I just don't know how to do it."
I'm a little confused. "So who are you proposing to? Megan?"
"Well, of course Megan, you idiot! But I don't know how to propose to her."
I remember when I proposed to Honey. I was still in my wheelchair and couldn't get down on one knee, so Hiro did it while I spoke the words. We were on the docks, and it was a beautiful night. Honey said yes, but only if I'd try to walk again, even though the doctors told me I never would. And as soon as I could move, we set a wedding date and boom. Here we are. I love having a family. I want that for Hiro.
"Let me give you some tips," I say. "Since I actually know how to flirt."
Hiro rolls his eyes. "Alright. What should I do?"
"Well, first you should probably make sure you have a ring…"
nine months later
HIRO
Today I'm getting my bachelor's degree. I can't believe I'm done with four years of college. I mean, I have a while to go, but I'm still getting my degree at eighteen. Everyone think's that's pretty impressive, and it is, I guess. But I didn't ask to have an IQ of two hundred fourteen. Sometimes I wish I didn't.
I get to stand in the very back of the line. The very back. As in the last spot in the whole line. I'm eighteen and only five foot four. Even the girls are taller than me—it's really sad. My graduation gown is several sizes too big and trails on the floor, and the cap keeps slipping down over my eyes.
I run my hand over my brace, buckled under my gown. It's rather uncomfortable at the moment—I have to keep it tighter right now because I, like an idiot, tripped over a sleeping Baymax and fell down the stairs. That was last week. I didn't break my hip again, but I jarred it pretty badly and it hurts. Actually, my hip almost always hurts, but it's worse at the moment.
The announcer reads off the names of the graduates and we head up to get our diplomas. I'm the very last one, which is still bugging me. The rest of the graduation passes in a blur and I go over to meet my family.
Tadashi pulls me into a bear hug, lifting me entirely off the ground. I laugh and squirm out of his grasp. He smirks and yanks on my tassel, pulling the cap down over my eyes. I remember when my motorcycle helmet used to do that and smile.
"I'm so proud of you," Dashi says, tears suddenly welling in his eyes. "I'm so happy you got to graduate this way. After the hurricane…l guess I didn't think we'd be here."
He scoops me up again, and I ignore the jolt of pain that shoots through my hip. Tadashi plants a kiss on my forehead, just like our mother used to do. That's all I remember of our parents—my mother's kisses, and my father's laugh.
I've seen pictures of them, but I don't really remember what they looked like. According to the photo albums, my mom was a small, pear-shaped woman with chestnut hair, soft blue eyes, and full cheeks. She looked a lot like Aunt Cass—Scots-Irish all the way. My dad was fully Japanese, a little chubby, with glasses, messy dark hair, and a huge smile. The pictures of our family, fifteen years ago, are adorable—my parents posing with short, skinny, beaming Tadashi and small, chubby, dinosaur onesie-wearing me. I wish I remembered more, but that's all I have.
"Hiro!" Tadashi calls, jerking me out of my trance. "Let's go!"
I turn to follow them, and then suddenly Honey doubles over, clutching her stomach. Teddy makes a small, scared noise and grabs his mom's skirt. "What's wong, Mommy?"
"My water just broke," Honey says, provoking several gasps. "He's coming."
"But today is his due date!" Dashi says, bewildered. "Babies never come on their due dates!"
"This one is," Honey says exasperatedly. "Besides, you came on your due date, didn't you?"
"Well—well, yeah, but still—"
Honey groans. "Let's just go to the hospital."
Several hours, a lot of blood, and much screaming later, I gaze down at my newest nephew, who looks so much like my mom that I can't even. Treven has brown hair, sky-blue eyes, and pale skin. Despite that, though, he's named after my dad—and Wasabi. Treven Wanjohi.
Tadashi cuddles his newborn son, stroking his hair. "He's beautiful, Honey. I'm not worried anymore."
Honey grins despite her exhaustion. "You will be once we take him home, but I appreciate the sentiment."
I can't believe Trev was born on his due date. I mean, Tadashi was, but I was three months early—I almost died. I would have if I hadn't been resuscitated and rushed to the NICU. Dashi's daughter, Eva, was only two weeks early, and Teddy was three weeks late—he actually got stuck in the birth canal, but the doctors pulled him out with forceps and there were no other complications. It's really rare for a baby to be born on their due date, though, so this is pretty cool.
I drive home and pick up Eva and Teddy, who are staying with a babysitter, to come see their new baby brother. Teddy is really excited—he wanted a boy. Eva is not—she wanted a girl. But both of them fall in love with Trev instantly.
Aunt Cass and I head back to the café, wanting to give the new family a chance to be alone. I limp upstairs to my room and sink down on the bed, rubbing my hip, which aches from running around so much today. Or, well, at least limping as fast as I can. I keep reminding myself that I can't run anymore. Even though it's been four years since the hurricane, I'm still getting used to this.
I pick up the tiny white box from my nightstand, flipping it open to reveal the white gold, diamond-studded ring. I need to ask Megan soon. I just don't know how. She's so beautiful and smart and amazing, and I don't think she'd want to marry someone like me—short, skinny, nerdy, and permanently disabled. The hip brace is a bit of a turn-off. I know Megan cares about me. But does she love me?
I resolve to ask her. Soon.
Then, suddenly, I remember how my dad proposed to my mom, and I know exactly how to do it.
I unbuckle my brace, set it on the nightstand, and fall asleep smiling.
The next day, I pull on my suit and take a deep breath. I'm ready. Tonight is the night.
And I'm so nervous I might throw up.
Megan can only say yes or no, but it's the question that will determine all of eternity for me. I don't want to marry anyone else. I just hope she feels the same way.
I drive over to Megan's house at seven, almost hyperventilating. My hands are shaking so violently that I back into our mailbox, then our trash cans, then the fire hydrant. My hip hurts worse every time I hit something. I've gotta stop that or I'll be in too much pain to get down on one knee.
When I get there, I dash up the steps to Megan's front door and ring the doorbell, panting. I can barely breathe. I struggle to stay composed as the door opens.
Megan smiles down at me, and she looks beautiful. She wears almost no makeup, but her dark hair is done up beautifully and her long black dress shows off every one of her curves. My girlfriend is so beautiful that I feel like something scraped off someone's shoe.
"Hey, Hiro," Megan says, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "How're you?"
"F-fine," I stutter, trying to smile. "Ready to go?"
"Whenever you are," she says, then calls over her shoulder, "See you in a bit, Dad!"
"Love you, honey!" Chief Cruz yells back, and the door shuts. I lead Megan down the stairs to my truck—which I'm still a little embarrassed about driving—and we head over to Cheesecake Factory.
I am also embarrassed about ordering pizza. But I order pizza every time we go here, and I see no reason to stop now. Megan orders truffle honey chicken, which looks really good. I might have to try it sometime.
By the end of dinner, my brace is squeezing my gut so viciously that I have to loosen it. I shouldn't have eaten the whole flatbread pizza. Whatever. It was really good. And besides, Megan ate her whole meal, too. So I have nothing to be embarrassed about.
I walk Megan down to the carriage waiting outside—yes, I got a horse-drawn carriage. That's how my dad proposed to my mom, and I can think of no better way to do it.
"Wow, Hiro," Megan comments. "You did all this for me?"
I nod proudly. "Just for you."
We climb into the carriage and set off. The moon is bright and tonight the stars are out. Amazing. You can almost never see the stars here because of all the light pollution.
"Hiro," Megan says, pulling my thoughts away from the sky. "I've been thinking about it, and…I love you. More than anyone I've ever met. You're smart and funny and sweet, and I care about you. I guess…I guess I just wanted to say that." She smiles at me, looking relieved to have gotten that out of the way. "And I wanted to ask if you felt the same."
"I do," I give her a kiss on the cheek. "And I want to ask you something, too." I get down on one knee and pull out the ring, ignoring my aching hip. "Megan…you're just amazing. I know I'm not that great, and I get it if you don't want to be with the nerd with the hip brace. But I want to be with you forever. So, if you love me…" I swallow. "Will you marry me?"
Megan's eyes are filled with tears. "Hiro…I never imagined…but I have never wanted anyone else but you." She takes a deep breath. "Yes."
I slip the ring onto her finger and kiss her hand, then climb back up onto the seat and pull Megan to me, gently pressing my lips against hers. I am hers, and she is mine, and this is how it will be for all of eternity.
I wouldn't want it any other way.
