Chapter Five

"Okay Hiro: Listen up!"

Almost instant the minute Tadashi and Masashi entered the room, Hiro hid the bag of pocky sticks behind his back. "Were we going somewhere?" The next evening came rather quickly and by the time they had gotten home from SFIT Hiro was exhausted. It was supposed to be straight to bed for him, Tadashi and Masashi both stayed awake hours later to make sure he was asleep.

"No, it's a little too late to run out." Tadashi pointed out. "But you want in right?"

"Yeah!"

Hiro moved to his desk chair watching Masashi staple over a poster replacing it with a SFIT one instead to remind Hiro and give him that extra drive. "Here's the deal. Every year the students have a show case, you do something that blows Callaghan and Ackerman away and you're in for sure!"

"Oh…. It will." Hiro grinned as he grabbed his pencils and paper. "Just leave me to plot."

But as Masashi already guessed, Hiro was stumped. No idea what so ever.

"Did that already…did that when I was five."

"I think we can all agree that hover skateboards are a terrible idea?" Masashi piped up, lifting his eyes up away from a horror novel he started reading on Tadashi's bed. "Didn't you break an arm or something?"

"Banned for life. Lived under threat of fear for being put in the garage." Tadashi quipped up, turning a page in his own book listening with mild amusement of Hiro hitting his forehead against his desk.

"Brain… Work… With… Me." Hiro groaned out, gripping his hair out of frustration. Masashi let out a 'tsk tsk', shaking his head in fake disbelief. ""I got nothing!" He cried out before proceeding to hit his head again and again. "Stupid. Useless. Brain!"

"Washed up at fourteen. So sad." Tadashi commented.

"I'm never gonna get in…!"

"Alright that's it!" Tadashi set his book down going over to Hiro throwing him on the bed. "We're not going to give up on you." Poor Hiro had no idea what his brother was planning, until Masashi watched with an amused expression of him grabbed by the ankles and onto Tadashi's shoulder.

"WAH! TADASHI! MASASHI LEND ME A HAND WILL YA?!"

"Tadashi knows what he's doing Hiro, trust me." Masashi all but responded, fighting his damnest to not laugh at the glare Hiro tossed at him.

Tadashi smirked as he began shaking Hiro around a bit. "Shake things up!" He laughed.

"What?!"

"Use that big brain of yours and think your way out." Tadashi continued, grinning down at his younger brother's glaring expression. "Look for a new angle."

Hiro let out a groan, allowing himself to be hung upside down a while longer when Megabot suddenly caught his eye. He could already see the gears going in circular motion in his mind, knowing exactly now what he needed to do.

"Well… I know one thing… At least to get me out of this."

"And what's that?"

"Sick 'em Megabot!"

The younger Hamada sibling whipped out his controller making Megabot move around Tadashi's ankles.

"Ack!"

"Ow!"

"What the-?"

Hiro, Tadashi and somehow Masashi all ended up on the floor with Masashi sandwiched in between Tadashi and Hiro. "Masashi! Dude…Get off will ya? You're crushing me!"

"Huh. I don't remember the floor being this lumpy." Tadashi grumbled, groaning as he helped both of them up dusting himself off. "Sneaky little brother. Very sneaky."

Masashi rolled his eyes. "Now ladies you're both beautiful."

"Hey!"

The two brothers crept closer to the other college student who gave a sheepish laugh before making a bee line out of the room with them tailing right behind.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"Tadashi! Hiro: If you're finished kissing those robots of yours are either of you going to come down and help test out this cake batter?! I need a second/third opinion if I got the texture right." Masashi called from downstairs in the café, sighing wearily.

The two Hamada siblings worked at Aunt Cass's café before but now it was full time. Masashi had recently gotten himself hired fortunately after the last restaurant he worked at had to let him go due to it being closed down. Cass Hamada was a nice woman to be around-when she wasn't in one of her moods like that one night-and Masashi just loved the atmosphere of the place.

As of now he was currently getting a new cake batter going thinking he finally got it right this time. An old recipe of his mother's for a strawberry/orange cake that he was sure would be a hit.

"Hold on alright?! I just have one last circuit…"

"Wait. Didn't Tadashi ban microbots from being in the house?"

"Yeah I-HIRO!"

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine."

Hiro grudgingly walked down the staircase with Tadashi in front all the while narrowing his eyes at a smirking Masashi. "Snitch."

"Little troll. Now c'mon, I need one of you to be my taste tester."

Hiro raised his hands up while backing away. "No way am I trying anything you make again. You gave us food poisoning the last time remember?"

"That was one time! Besides…how was I supposed to know chicken had to be cooked thoroughly?"

Tadashi shook his head after putting on his work uniform. "Come on Hiro, let's give him another chance." Although, Masashi could see that tiny little bit of concern in Tadashi's brown eyes as he chuckled softly watching the other dip a spoon in the light red/orange batter. Hiro had his eyes covered as Tadashi gave it a hesitant lick with the tip of his tongue when something hit him. A feeling. An extraordinary, amazing feeling coursed through his body licking his lips of the extra batter that lingered. Even Hiro uncovered his eyes seeing his older brother's grin of approval.

"Whoa! That's…awesome Masashi. What kind of batter is this again? Hiro you have to give this a try."

"If you say so." Hiro muttered, eyeing Masashi the entire time as he dipped his index finger with a small dab popping some in his mouth. His eyes to widen at the delicious taste, but shrugged one shoulder trying to keep it cool. "It's not bad."

Masashi sighed with utmost relief. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that: Guess strawberries and oranges really do go together after all." He laughed sheepishly.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A few more weeks had gone by and the trio were making progress with the microbots day by day. But it seemed Masashi's patience was starting to thin. Both ended up losing sleep since Hiro did not want to do this alone which added more and more stress. His point of view? "The point of this is for all three of us to work together!"

Work together he said. Bonding he said…sounds more to me like 'I'll make Tadashi and Masashi do the work so I can get the freakin credit!'

As much as Masashi wanted to tie Hiro up to Tadashi's moped and just let the thing go…he knew that wouldn't solve anything. Tadashi watched with a weary expression as the two glared at one another all day at the café.

I swear these two are going to be the death of each other…or I'll be driven mad instead

"Oh look: A survivor!"

Tadashi lifted his head up when he heard Fred's voice smiling to see the rest of the gang with him as well. "We'll be out back." Gogo commented, nodding her head towards the garage as the group filed out.

"You're sicking your nerd squad on me?" Hiro asked passing by with a food tray to another table.

"Not sickin' 'em on anyone. But if you got on her last nerve Gogo might just bite you."

"Ah huh."

"Guys leave your quarrels out of work or no one's going to that showcase!" Aunt Cass warned from her spot at the register.

And that was the end of that. Masashi and Hiro might have given each other 'eye talks' with some rather colorful language thrown at one another but thankfully for Tadashi's sake it wasn't too bad to deal with. The garage was their next destination.

"Tadashi please…do I have to get on my knees and beg here? I NEED my sleep." Masashi complained, giving the older Hamada sibling his best puppy dog eyes. "Please. I feel like I'm going to pass out."

Tadashi sighed giving him a side hug. "You knew this would happen. Hiro has a habit of taking over when he really wants something. I don't blame you if you say 'I quit'. You've pulled through so far without giving up from the beginning."

A frown crosses Masashi's face. "…I told him I'd help him I guess. What would that make me if I quit on him?"

Tadashi chuckled, giving his waist a squeeze. "You remember that one year when we had our first win?" He asked, nodding over to their friends and Hiro showing them his Microbots. Clear pride in his eyes.

Masashi chuckled in return leaning in perhaps just a bit closer humming a 'yes' in response. "Great year wasn't it Dashi? We're not telling Hiro what we made though right? Our little secret?"

"Our little secret."

"What 'little secret' are you love birds talking about exactly?"

Masashi gives a narrow of his eyes at the 'love birds' remark from a puzzled and curious Hiro eavesdropping on their conversation, huffing straightening himself up. "Sorry short-stack: That's for us to know and you to never find out."

"Ah you mean THAT." Gogo smirked nudging Tadashi. "Oh THAT was great."

"The whole night was great."

"To think I still have THAT and use IT."

"Still use what?!"

"If we told you we'd be breaking our lab code," Fred commented. "And I still have to give you a nickname."

"….This shall be the part where Hiro takes his job seriously." The college students chuckle as they watch he put on some head phones beginning to pack up more Microbots at his 'station'.

"I think he's going to fit in just fine." Tadashi laughed.

"Well when he gets in he will. Callaghan and Ackerman will have their hands full that's for sure." Honey giggled followed by a smirk as another one of her ideas popped in her head. "You know: With Hiro's cuteness I think he'll be quite the charmer. Especially with the female professors."

Hiro jumped at the word 'cute'. "Cute?" He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. If there was one thing he hated being called the most it had to be 'cute' hands down. He wasn't given the nickname by old man Tanaka 'Little Devil of Sanfransokyo' for nothing. "I am NOT cute!"

"If you aren't how you say 'not cute' then why does Mrs. Haruna give you extra things?" Masashi teased, flicking him playfully in the forehead earning another laugh from the other students and a flushed Hiro.