Brothers
7
Ages
Hiro: 7
Tadashi: 16
(Side note) I know I said my stories wouldn't correlate with each other, but this one slightly coincides with the last one (One where Hiro is sick) in a way. It's been a few weeks since the whole lack of sleep incident for them btw. Okay, enjoy!
Tadashi's POV
I woke up to the feeling that someone was watching me. I get up and rub my eyes open and am shocked to see Hiro, Aunt Cass, Fred, and Honey Lemon all in my room smiling at me.
"Gah!" what is this?!" I cry. Hiro smiled extra largely at me. "C'mon Dashi think! What's today?!" he asks anxiously.
I think to myself. Is it Hiro's first day of junior high? No, that's not for another few weeks. Is it Hiro's birthday? No that's not for another few weeks as well. Is it…hmm, I really don't know. WAIT! God, I've been so caught up in making sure Hiro's life is in check, I totally blanked out and forgot it was MY birthday!
I blushed in embarrassment and face palmed myself. The others laughed hysterically.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TADASHI!" they all cried merrily. I blushed harder. "Guys, this wasn't necessary." I say modestly. They all laugh.
"It kind of was Tadashi. Hiro called us all last night and forced us to come!" Honey Lemon joked. I blushed again and shot a playful glare at my baby bro. he shrugs comically.
Normal POV
"Well, let' go down and celebrate the day Tadashi was born!" Aunt Cass announced, rushing downstairs, Fred and Honey Lemon following her.
Hiro stayed and ran into his older brother, tackling him into a huge hug. "Happy Birthday Dashi." He said happily. Tadashi smiled and gave him a mini noogie, causing Hiro to scoot away from him. "Gah! Tadashi, you know I hate it when you frazzle up my hair." He says irritated, but the older Hamada saw a hint of a smile creeping through.
"Sooooo, what'd you get me?!" Tadashi asked eagerly. Hiro metaphorically locked his lips and threw away the key, dashing to the door. But before the 7 year old tease could open it, Tadashi grabbed him and lifted him up.
Hiro squealed in surprise. "Dashi! Put me down." He said, laughing.
"No way little brother. Not until I get my gift." Tadashi countered. Hiro smirked. "Well then, I guess you're gonna be carrying me for a long time then Dashi, because I'm giving you my present last. After everyone leaves." Hiro said.
"Wrong answer!" Tadashi cried playfully, tackling his younger brother on his bed and pinning him down. "Tadashi c'mon, lemme go." Hiro said, though the younger brother was secretly amused.
"No way little bro. you're about to get it." Tadashi says evilly, beginning to ruthlessly tickle Hiro. The younger Hamada brother shrieked with laughter. "T-Tadashi q-quit it!" Hiro cried. Tadashi laughed at Hiro's predicament.
He showed no signs of stopping, tickling his ribs, stomach, and armpits, and Hiro couldn't take much more. "P-please T-Tadashi! I'm d-dying h-here!" Hiro begged, tears coming into his brown eyes. "Will you give me my present?" Tadashi questioned. Hiro shook his head furiously and so Tadashi went to tickling the poor boy's feet instead. Hiro squealed and shook vigorously. "S-stop it!" he begged mercifully. Tadashi squeezed his finger through Hiro's toes to get the maximum tickle effect and Hiro roared with laughter.
"O-okay, I-I'll give it to y-y-you! Just –stop!" Hiro begged. Tadashi finally stopped his torture. "Thanks little bro." he said evilly.
Hiro breathed in and out heavily, trying to catch his breath. He glared at Tadashi who smiled sweetly in return. "Sorry Hiro, but you know, it's my birthday and there's wishes to be fulfilled and such, so- HEY!" Tadashi yelled, as Hiro raced downstairs while he was talking.
Tadashi shook his head. "Unbelievable." He stated, chasing after the little liar.
He went down only to see the café only to see that it was decorated with banners, streamers, balloons, and a LOT of mini robots. It was nerd/birthday heaven. Tadashi gasped.
"Whoa, all this? For me?" he asked in disbelief. Fred, Honey Lemon, Aunt Cass, and even Hiro nodded. Tadashi shot Hiro a look that said what they talked about upstairs wasn't settled, who simply shot Tadashi a dopey teeth gapped smile and friendly wave.
The party overall was great. There was way more than enough cake and other sweets, hence it was a party in a café. Tadashi was having loads of fun with his friends and Hiro. Aunt Cass was taking loads of pictures, and Hiro was eating loads of gummy bears. Tadashi even got a video call from his two friends from SFIT, (San Fransokyo institute of technology) Gogo and Wasabi saying Happy Birthday.
Finally, the gift giving part came and Honey Lemon was eager to go first.
"Oh Tadashi! You must open mine first! I hope you'll love it! I made sure you would, but let's be sure. One can't ever be too certain you know!" Honey babbled. Tadashi grinned at his over eager and bubbly friend. Honey handed him a lime green wrapped present decorated with forest green leaves. Tadashi opened it to reveal an assortment of test tubes. He wasn't sure what they were exactly and turned to Honey Lemon for an explanation.
"The test tubes are filled these special chemicals I invented myself! They're actually different emotions, the colors! There's a chart in there that explains it. Yellow is happy, pink is love, and so on! You can put a drop on someone's skin and that emotion is enhanced for them! There's enough for 10 drop so each emotion so use them wisely! Ohhh try one now!" Honey Lemon suggested eagerly.
Tadashi shrugged. "Why not?" he said, taking a look at the chart. Picking the orange one up, he called to Fred. "Yo Fred, come here." Fred came to Tadashi, a bit confused. "What emotion is it?" he asked curiously. Tadashi smiled. "You'll see." Tadashi said mysteriously, placing a drop of the orange substance on his friend's arm.
A moment later, Fred's usually silly grin and warm, somewhat lazy eyes were replaced with a neutral and no nonsense expression. Tadashi nudged Hiro. "Pst, ask him a question. Go on." He said. Hiro was puzzled, but did so anyway.
"Hey Fred, what's your favorite color?" Hiro asked. "Blue." He responded plainly. "Why?" Hiro questioned. "Because it is aesthetically pleasing." Fred responded sophisticatedly. Hiro was taken aback.
"Wow Tadashi, what emotion was that?" Hiro asked. Tadashi laughed. "Serious." The older of the two responded. Hiro was shocked. "That's sick Honey!" Hiro exclaimed. Honey Lemon blushed. "Oh thank you Hiro, it was nothing really, just some mixing here and there." She replied modestly. "Seriously Honey, this is gift is insane. Thanks!" Tadashi exclaimed. Honey blushed once more, waving it off, but extremely pleased that Tadashi liked it.
Fred went next. "Here Tadashi, open it." He said bluntly. Tadashi accepted the newspaper covered gift. "Wow, serious Fred is a bit monotone huh?" Tadashi mused. Honey and Hiro had to agree. Tadashi unwrapped the newspaper to reveal a glass figurine of him, Hiro, Honey Lemon, Aunt Cass, and even Fred himself. Tadashi was giving Hiro a piggy back ride, Honey giving peace, Fred was adjusting his beanie, and Aunt Cass had a cake tray in her hand. The whole thing was elegant, shiny, and crystal like.
Tadashi stared at it in wonder. "Whoa. Fred this is amazing!" Tadashi said in absolute awe. "Thank you Tadashi. I had my ice sculptor make it. Apparently, he can work with glass too." Fred responded. Tadashi gave a side glance to Honey Lemon. "Hey Honey, how long does this emotion thing last?" he asked. Honey shrugged. "It lasts anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour." She responded.
"OHH, me next! Me next!" Aunt Cass said, barging in with a small gift bag. Tadashi looked at her with a tired smile. "Aunt Cass, you didn't have to get me anything." Tadashi said, embarrassed. Aunt Cass waved it off. "Oh Tadashi, save the speech you give me every birthday and take the gift." Aunt Cass insisted, shoving the tiny gift bag into Tadashi's hands.
Tadashi wondered what it could be and then finally reached in and felt something cold and metal. He pulled out a pair of silver keys. He gasped heavily. "AUNT CASS NO WAY!" he screamed. Aunt Cass nodded and jumped up and down. "I bought you your own moped like you've been wanting!" she said excitedly. Tadashi broke into a crazy grin and burst into excitement, rushing outside to go see it, Honey Lemon and Fred following him.
Hiro stayed behind with Aunt Cass. He sighed and Aunt Cass noticed. "Hiro, what's wrong?" she asked. Hiro looked at her with sad eyes. "What if…what if Tadashi doesn't like my gift as much as you Honey Lemon's and Fred's? I mean, emotion induced chemicals? Super shiny and awesome glass figurine? A flipping moped? My gift just seems lame in comparison." He admitted.
Aunt Cass hugged him. "Oh Hiro. I'm sure whatever you got him is just perfect. He loves you, you know that. He won't care as long as you thought to get himself something meaningful." She assured. Hiro nodded, though half-heartedly.
Tadashi eventually came back in, without his friends. "They had to go home, it's getting late." Tadashi answered his aunt's questioning look. She nodded and yawned, saying she was going to retire as well. With a final birthday hug and kiss, Aunt Cass walked to her room.
Tadashi quickly grabbed Hiro, flung him over his back and raced upstairs. "Tadashi put me down." Hiro said, amused. Tadashi did as his younger brother said and threw him on his bed. Hiro covered himself in fear of being tickled again. Tadashi chuckled. "Don't worry little bro, not again, although I totally should for how you tricked me this morning." Tadashi said. Hiro waved it off and buried himself under his covers. Tadashi wasn't having any of it though.
The newly dubbed 16 year old yanked the sheets away and tapped his foot expectantly. Hiro played dumb and gave Tadashi an innocent look.
"You wanna give me my present now?" he asked. Hiro shook his head. "Why not?" he asked. Hiro remained silent.
"Hiro, did you forget? Because it's okay. I won't be mad if that's what you're worried about." Tadashi said. Hiro twiddled his thumbs and bit his lip nervously, gaze shifting left and right violently.
"Tadashi, I didn't forget. How could I possibly forget? I just… I don't know if you'll even like it compared to all the other great gifts you got today." Hiro said nervously. Tadashi patted his brother on the shoulder comfortingly. "Hiro, I don't care what you got me. I just wanna know what it is. Knowing that you at least cared enough to put some effort is enough for me." Tadashi reassured Hiro. The younger Hamada brother looked uncertain still.
"Hiro c'mon. Don't be ridiculous. This is crazy. I'll still love you, crappy gift or not." Tadashi said teasingly. Hiro gulped.
"Gah! Tadashi you don't get it. You always give me great gifts. The best ones. I've gotten you stupid gifts every year and you know it. The best thing I did was give you a picture of a robot and even that was pretty sad. This year, I thought I made a good gift, the perfect gift even, now that I'm a genius and all, but I… I mean after all those incredible gifts. It's nothing. It's just another childish loser gift." Hiro said sadly.
"Hey hey hey. Don't be like that. C'mon Hiro, I loved those gifts. They weren't loser gifts." Tadashi defended.
"Yeah right. You're only saying that to make me feel better." Hiro said, arms crossed in a pouty manner.
Tadashi thought for a moment before running into their shared closet. He soon came back with a cardboard box and placed it in front of Hiro.
Hiro's POV
He shoved a cardboard box in front of me. Why'd he do that? Wait a second. It couldn't be….could it? No way…is it? I had to know. I looked to Tadashi for an explanation.
"Open it." He urged.
I carefully took the lid off to see all the gifts I had gotten Tadashi for his birthday the past years. A yo-yo that I tried to make, but epically failed. The string was frayed and the base of the yo-yo was cracked. A note I wrote for him in nearly unreadable handwriting was framed and tucked in the corner. A stuffed bunny with a chewed ear was laying in the middle. Even the robot picture was there, neatly folded. All my loser gifts, in this cardboard box. Tadashi had kept them!?
"Dashi? Why? How? When?" I was at a loss for words.
"I told you Hiro, they aren't loser gifts. They're Hiro gifts and I love them, just like I love you." He said, giving me a caring look. I nearly melted at his words. I got my confidence back and was ready.
Reaching under my pillow, I pulled out Tadashi's gift. I hide it behind me and face him. "Alright, now before I hand it over, keep in mind that I'm terrible at wrapping things so I didn't bother. It would've just looked horrible." I say cautiously, still a bit apprehensive to fork over the gift.
"Quit worrying so much Hiro. Wow, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say." Tadashi said with a laugh. I smiled. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and handed Tadashi his gift.
He made a noise of astonishment. "Wow, Hiro. This is that same metal box thingy you were working on when you were sick that day isn't it?" he asked, amazed. I nodded, opening my eyes. "Told you one day you'd find out what it was.
"So what's it do?" he asked excitedly. I smiled at his reaction. I really wanted him to like it and I crossed my fingers that he would.
"Alright, well as you can see, there's a lot of buttons on it. So go ahead and push one." I say hesitantly. Tadashi eagerly click the blue one and the room suddenly gets extremely cold and we both shiver.
"Wow Hiro, don't tell me this thing can change the temperature?!" Tadashi asked, bewildered. I nod shyly. Tadashi's eyes bug out and he clicks the yellow button. The room gets really hot and I have to take off my hoodie due to the intense heat.
Tadashi then presses the green button and it becomes pleasant weather.
"Yeah, the buttons on that side are basically the four seasons. One side controls that. Another controls wind patterns, and another controls rain, snow, sleet and hail. The downside is that it only effects this room. That's how it's programmed, sorry." I say sheepishly
"Hiro this is still super sick! Why are you apologizing?! It's insane, unbelievable, indescribable! How could you possibly be reluctant to show me this?! It's wicked!" Tadashi exclaimed, making my heart burst with happiness. He liked it! He really and truly liked it!
He tackled me into a massive bear hug and wouldn't let go for a long time. I melted into the hug and smiled like an idiot. Tadashi grinned and hugged me two more times and then told me to get to bed since it was late.
I changed, brushed my teeth, and hopped into my bed, getting cozy under the covers. I was about to drift off when I felt super cold. Like insanely cold. I tried to sandwich myself in my covers, but it didn't help. I then realized it was most likely Tadashi messing with me with his new gift.
I hopped out of bed, teeth chattering and jumped into Tadashi's. "D-Dashi, un-press the blue button, I-it's f-f-freezing!" I beg. Tadashi simply points to a spot next to him under the covers. I lean in and he unclicks the blue button. Finally, I stop shivering. I'm about to go back to my bed when Tadashi stops me.
"Hey uh, since you're already here, you might as well stay." He says with a nervous smile.
I grin. "Whatever you say Dashi." I responded with an eye roll. He smiles at my answer. I snuggle up close to him, happy beyond words that he liked my gift.
"Hey Hiro, that might've been my plan all along. To get you to stay here I mean." He says. I hold back a snort. I wanted to say 'nah really?', but instead in nuzzle up into him more and sigh contently. "You know for some reason, I don't mind." I say softly.
Happy Birthday Tadashi.