If I didn't response to your review, it's because I lost track of where I was. D: Sorry. I greatly appreciate the reviews you guys give though. They really brighten my work day.

December 16th: Tuesday

Theme: 6. Snow

Tuesday started off quite like Monday. That was, Hiro went to campus, finished his finals as quickly as he possibly could, to the envy of his classmates, before leaving. His mind was still mulling over what to do now that Tadashi knew. Undoubtedly, Professor Callaghan told Tadashi the entire story and it was not such a stretch to assume that Tadashi would want nothing to do with Hiro after that. Who would?

The option to transfer schools was still on the table. He might already be registered for another semester at SFIT but there was still time to transfer to another university maybe like SFU for a semester before leaving the city entirely. Or, since Hiro accomplished what he wanted, he could just drop out of SFIT, return back to New Yosaka and just live the rest of his life as a hermit. He had enough royalties from the few inventions he managed to copyright to live somewhat comfortably for the rest of his life.

Hiro slowly headed off campus, trudging through the snow. The crosswalk came just in sight when he heard his name being called.

"HIRO!"

Hiro turned and saw Tadashi sprinting toward him. Panic filled him and Hiro took off. However Tadashi's longer stride meant he caught up to Hiro faster. With a quick snatch of Hiro's hoodie, they both fell into the snow.

Limbs flailing, Hiro sat up sputtering as the snow fell from his black hair. "What the hell Tadashi?" he snapped.

"Stop running!" Tadashi shouted back. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Stop running away from me."

Hiro felt exhausted. He was tired, stressed and weary. Why was Tadashi here? Hiro just wanted to be left alone. "What do you want, Tadashi?" he asked, voice tight.

Tadashi fished his baseball cap out of the snow and brushed it clean before placing it back on his head. In a firm tone of voice, he said, "I want to know what's going on. Why are you ignoring my texts, my calls, what did Professor Callaghan mean by Dr. Takachiho?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!"

"Why do you even care?" Hiro shot back bitterly. His heart clenched and he desperately wished the ground would swallow him whole. Hiro refused to meet Tadashi's eyes, wanting everything to just… go away.

"Because you look lonely."

In shock, Hiro looked up. What?

Tadashi looked uncomfortable. "I've seen you in Frostbite before. You're always in the back corner table, hiding in the shadows. At first it looked like you're just studying hard and that was commendable. But the more I visited Frostbite, the more I saw you, the more… sad you seemed. No one stopped by your table to say hello, your phone doesn't seem to go off from calls or messages. It was just you, by yourself. No matter what time I came in. You were always alone. Then December 1st came and the tables were filled and I had a reason to talk to you. I just wanted to see you smile."

Something broke inside of Hiro at Tadashi's words. Of course, Tadashi would notice. The all encompassing loneliness that followed Hiro throughout his entire life. The empty home, lacking in warmth since his mother's death, his father's absence. The pressure of being a child prodigy, the expectations of brilliance. The crippling realization that more people were concerned about Hiro's brain than with Hiro himself. The drowning sorrow, unwavering grief and unrelenting guilt over Abigail's death.

Tears began to stream from Hiro's face as everything just collapsed within him.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," Tadashi blurted out, panicking.

The tears wouldn't stop. Oh god. Why couldn't he have met Tadashi before his life got turned upside down? What did Hiro do to deserve this?

Tadashi pulled Hiro into a tight hug. "It'll be okay," Tadashi reassured.

Hiro closed his eyes, tears still falling and bowed his head to Tadashi's shoulder. He let loose the grief, rage, exhaustion and loneliness that Hiro had kept bottled up for years.

Neither of them moved for a long time.