Brothers
18
Ages
Hiro: 6
Tadashi: 12
Hiro's POV
"Please Aunt Cass. I'd do everything for it." I plead, hoping to get her to say yes. Aunt Cass wagged her finger. "Say what you want Hiro, but we are NOT getting a dog and that's final." She said firmly. I glare at her, but she doesn't faze. "Ugh fine Aunt Cass. How about a bird? A parrot?!" I ask eagerly. "Hiro, what suddenly got you wanting a pet so bad anyway?" Aunt Cass asked.
"I'm lonely." I say in an overly sad voice, hoping to win her over. She isn't amused. "You have me and Tadashi." She retaliates. "Psh, Tadashi's got a project to do for math and is too 'busy' for me." I scoff. "Well he won't be working on it forever." She says. "And if you're that bored, I'll hang out with you." She offers. I slouch my shoulders.
Guess that means no bird. She already said no to a snake, dog, spider, and turtle.
"Geez Aunt Cass, as appealing as that sounds, I was about to go the park anyways. Sorry." I say in a sarcastic tone. She rolls her eyes. "Alright, just don't be out too long or I'll send Tadashi after you." She warns. "Psh, he'll probably come look for me on his own. That guy is WAY too protective." I murmur, earning a raised eyebrow from Aunt Cass. "I mean, alright bye!" I call, running out the door.
As I walk to the park, I kick a can I came upon on my way. Hands in pockets, I groan and kick it harder. I really want a dog. Aunt Cass doesn't even have a valid reason not to buy one. She just doesn't want to see me happy.
When I get to the park, I see so many people walking their dogs and I can't help but feel jealous. It must be great. You can teach them tricks, play with them, and they love you like crazy.
I walk over to a woman on one of the benches. She's got a huge golden retriever and is feeding it something. "Can I pet him?" I ask hopefully. The lady smiles. "Go for it. It's a her by the way." She says politely. I smile even wider and pet the dog like crazy. Its tongue poked out and it pants like crazy
"What's her name?" I ask.
"Star." She responds. "She really seems to like you." The lady muses.
"Hey, you want to make ten bucks real quick?" She asks me. I get confused at the random question, but none the less look at her expectantly.
"If you walk Star around the park once I'll pay you ten dollars." She offers. I brighten at the suggestion. "Getting to spend time with a dog and get PAID for it? You got yourself a deal!" I say in joy. The lady giggles and hands me Star's collar. "Alright be careful now. I'll just be here." She says. I nod and carefully take the collar from her.
"Let's go." I say to Star, whose tail wags up in glee. While we're walking, I hear footsteps come toward us. Well, Star hears them and turns around and then I hear them too. I groan and shake my head.
"Tadashi, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working on your project?" I ask. "I finally finished and Aunt Cass told me you were here. I got worried." He says. I roll my eyes. "When do you not worry?" I question. He looks apologetic. "Sorry Hiro. Can't help it. So where'd the dog come from?" He asks.
"Some lady said she'd give me 10 bucks for walking her." I say proudly. Tadashi looks a little less than pleased. "Hiro, I don't want you talking to strangers like that." Tadashi says, getting concerned. "C'mon Tadashi. I've seen her before. She's come to the café before." I say, trying to get him to lose the overprotective demeanor. No such luck.
"Yeah, but honestly, I don't want you coming to the park alone either. Get Aunt Cass or me to come with you." He says. I look at him as if he's joking. "Go on." I say. "What?" He asks in confusion. "Tell me that was a joke and I'll still laugh." I say. Tadashi looks displeased. "Hiro I mean it. It's not safe for a little guy like you to be walking through the streets of San Fransokyo all alone." He says.
"Tadashi c'mon. Nothing's gonna happen. You make sure of that." I say, muttering the last part. Tadashi frowns at me. "What's the problem in getting me or Aunt Cass to come along?" He asks. "Nothing, it's just that sometimes you guys are busy, and I'm not just gonna sit at home all bored." I defend. He doesn't look convinced.
I'm about to blow up on him for the fact that Aunt Cass lets me go on my own and so he should too; but then, an idea hit me. I smirk in victory. There's no way I'll lose the argument this time.
"You know Tadashi, if we had a dog, I could take it with me and then I wouldn't be alone." I say as innocently as I can manage. Tadashi gives me a sideways glance. "A dog? You want a dog?" he asked. "Yup. For protection purposes of course. You know, it can be a guard dog. So you don't worry so much." I say. I see him thinking about it.
I got this in the bag. If I can push his buttons the right way, Tadashi will definitely be on my side and somehow convince Aunt Cass to get me a dog.
"I don't know Hiro. Dogs are a lot of work. I've got school to worry about and Aunt Cass has the café." He says. "Yeah, but I'm free. I got this Tadashi. I can totally take care of it. Please?" I ask. "Hiro I'm not sure you can handle it." He says uncertainly. "Well we'll never know until we try." I say, using the same words he uses on me when I have a problem I don't want to talk about. I can see he's really thinking hard on this one. I bite my lip and bring out my ultimate weapon.
"Please Dashi?! I'll take super good care of it. And you'll be happy knowing I'm safe! It's a win-win situation. Please?!" I beg, pulling a puppy face. He sighs. "Oh alright. What's the harm? I'll talk to Aunt Cass." He says with a light smile. I jump up in happiness and tackle Tadashi in a hug. "You're the best brother in the world!" I exclaim. He gets embarrassed and pulls me off of him. "Yeah yeah. Now grab that dog's leash before it runs away." He says with a laugh.
I widen my eyes in remembrance of Star. I grab the leash and continue to walk her, Tadashi right behind me.
"So what brought on this whole 'I want a dog' thing?" He questions as we walk. "Oh you know, it'll keep me safe." I say simply. He raises an eyebrow. "What was thereal reason? The one you had before you tried to convince me." He says knowingly. I smile sheepishly at the fact that he saw right through me.
"Well, why wouldn't I want a dog is the real question. It'll be great. I man c'mon. Who wouldn't want a dog? Well, besides Aunt Cass." I say. "I guess that makes sense. So would you want a boy or a girl?" He asks me. "Boy for sure. His name could be something awesome like Shredder or Rip-jaw." I say enthusiastically. "Or Baymax." Tadashi says thoughtfully.
I wrinkle my nose. "Baymax? What kind of name is that?" I ask. Tadashi's cheeks grow a slight pink color. "It was just a suggestion. You didn't have to take it." He says defensively.
I ignore the weird name he gave and continue to walk Star. When we finish our round around the park, I return Star to the lady and she gives me ten bucks as promised.
"Alright, let's go home." Tadashi says, reaching for my hand like he always does. I halfheartedly let him. "As soon as we get home you'll talk to Aunt Cass right?" I ask eagerly. He chuckles. "Yeah little guy. I will. Don't worry." He says. I smile and start running toward the bakery.
"OH alright!" Aunt Cass cried in frustration. "Hiro can have a 'guard' dog as long as he takes care of it, doesn't scare customers away, and doesn't get in my way." Aunt Cass agreed. I shouted in victory.
"YES! I'm getting a dog!" I say, fist pumping Tadashi.
I drag my older brother out of the bakery and practically shove him in the direction of the pet store. He yanks his arm back and laughs.
"Relax Hiro. The pet store isn't going anywhere." He says with a smile. I blush bashfully and continue walking. "I know that, but I really want my dog Dashi." I say. I can see his face brighten at the nickname and he follows me.
We make it to the pet store and Tadashi opens the door, making a ding sound as we enter.
"Welcome to Pets and more. How may we help you?" a man asked with a smile. I look at him in confusion. "We?" I question. The man's smile fades as he looks around for someone. "Where is that girl?" He mutters, then faces us again. "Oh sorry. It's just that my daughter promised she'd help me out today." He said apologetically.
Then we a girl approach us. She's pretty tall and has a mega-watt smile. "Welcome to pets and more! What can I do for you?!" She asks bright and cheery. Her dad smiles at her and looks at us expectantly. I feel my shyness kicking in and I hide behind Tadashi. The girl doesn't seem to mind.
"Hi, sorry about my brother. He's shy around new people. We're actually looking for a dog." He says. The girl smiles even wider. "Dad, I've got these guys. Let me do it myself." She says eagerly, dragging the both of us near the back end of the store.
"So what's your name?" Tadashi asks. The girl hold her hand out for Tadashi to shake. "My friend from school calls me Honey Lemon and insists I get others to do the same, so I guess I'm Honey Lemon." She says brightly. Tadashi gives a friendly smile in turn. "I'm Tadashi. And the bone head behind me is my little brother, Hiro." He says as I punch him in the leg. "It's so nice to meet you Tadashi. And you too Hiro." She says, waving at me. Tadashi nudges me in the side and I shyly give a half smile and wave in return.
"Gah! You are so cute!" She exclaims, picking me up. I freeze and stare at Tadashi for help. He nervously scratches his head. "Uh, I'm sorry Honey Lemon, but Hiro hates to be held." He says as politely as he can. Luckily, Honey Lemon doesn't take offense.
"Oh, no problem. My bad little one." She says, placing me down. When she does, I rush to Tadashi who picks me up. Honey Lemon smiles. "AWWWWW that's adorable. He only likes to be held by his brother!" She exclaims, causing us both to blush in embracement.
"Anyways, here are our dogs." She said, gesturing to an assortment of cages. I get down from Tadashi and marvel at all the dogs. So many colors, sizes, breeds. I don't know how to pick one. Tadashi looks at them too, almost as mesmerized as me by the choices.
"See any you like?" Honey Lemon asks excitedly. Tadashi looks at me. "What do you think Hiro?" he asks. I put my finger to my chin in thought. "I like that one." I say, pointing to a golden retriever. It was a tiny puppy with a large black stripe across its left eye. Also, one of its eyes were blue, while one was green. It looked beyond wicked. Honey Lemon beamed at our choice. "That's a great one. I found him in the streets as a stray about a week ago and thought he was to adorable not to bring back here. "So it's a he?" I ask with hope. Honey nods brightly. "Yup. Do you know what you're going to name him?" She asks.
I look to Tadashi for the answer, but he doesn't provide one. "His name will be Maximillian! Max for short." I say. Tadashi gives me a look. "And Baymax is a weird name?" He asks in disbelief. I stick my tongue out at him.
"It's a great name. Let me get that on a collar for you!" Honey says all bubbly, disappearing in a back room.
"So this is one huh?" Tadashi asks when she's gone. I look at Max and smile. "For sure. His eyes are sick." I say in awe. Tadashi has to agree. "Well, that's all great but remember that you're the one that's got to take care of it." He reminds me. "I didn't forget bro. this dog is going to get royal treatment from yours truly." I assure him. "Gee, I kinda wish I was a dog; then maybe I'd get special royal treatment from you too." Tadashi says jokingly. I roll my eyes at him.
Honey Lemon gets back and hands me a blue collar with 'Maximillian' engraved on a metal circle in the middle.
"Is that okay?" She asks hopefully. "Perfect." I respond.
She seems pleased with my answer and hands Tadashi the adoption forms to fill out.
"So how is everything going here sweetie? Honey Lemon's dad asks, popping out of nowhere. Honey smiles wide. "Great dad. I think they're happy." She says. "We are." I confirm, as Tadashi's too busy filling out the forms.
"Yeah, someday my daughter will take over the family business. Right?" He asks her. For the first time since I've met her, I see Honey Lemon crack a frown. It's a small one, but it's there all the same.
"Daddy, we've talked about this. I love helping out here, but I want to be a chemist." She says softly. Her dad frowns softly as well. "Honey, I thought that was a silly dream. You're only fourteen after all. You don't really know what it is you want." Her dad says. Honey sighs, but doesn't say anything more. I get the feeling that she doesn't like upsetting people and if she dug too deep in this conversation, it wouldn't end up with a happy father.
Tadashi finally finishes filling the forms out and hands them to Honey's father. Honey herself had gone to the front to help someone that just entered. "Ah, that dog is a nice choice. My daughter found it as a stray a few days ago, maybe a week. It's a mutation. See how the eyes are different colors. That, and the fact that it has a large black stripe." He explains, admiring Max.
I look at Maximilian and smile. "Yeah, he's gonna be the best dog ever." I say in a prideful manner, earning a nudge in the rib from Tadashi. "I mean, thank you sir." I say, hiding behind my brother again. The man chuckled. "No worries. I have no doubt he'll be a fine dog." He assures.
After buying food, bowls, pooper scooper, a leash, and a whole lot of other stuff, we leave the store as Honey cries out a "Good bye."
I feel Tadashi staring at me as I walk Max. "What?" I ask. He keeps a neutral look. "You're happy right?" He asks plainly. I'm a bit taken aback, but I respond. "Yeah, why?"
"Just making sure. You don't want anything else do you?" He asks.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You know, I haven't gotten you anything lately. I didn't even know you wanted a dog. Is there anything else you want? Some candy? An ice cream? I mean, we're already out." He suggests.
"I mean, if you want to then sure." I say.
"Alright, let's put all this stuff down at home and then let's go." He says. "Alright." I respond.
After dropping off all of Max's stuff down at the café and watching Aunt Cass go gaga over Max, we leave. I had to beg Tadashi to let us take Max. He finally agreed when I pulled the puppy face.
"You know Hiro, one day that face will do nothing for you." Tadashi says. "I don't care. For now, it works like a charm." I say smugly, petting Max behind the ears.
Normal POV
"Hey bonehead, wanna catch a movie?" Tadashi asked. Hiro was brushing Max's coat, but turned to face Tadashi. "Sorry I can't." He responds. Tadashi is taken aback. Hiro refusing to spend time together? That was way beyond abnormal.
"Why not?" He asks, a bit hurt.
"Well, first I have to finish brushing Maximillian." He said, saying 'Maximillian' in a baby voice as he stroked the dog's ear, causing the puppy to wag its tail and pant affectionately.
"Then I have to feed him." He says, laughing as Maximillian licked his face. "After that, I wanted to teach him a few tricks." He continues, putting the brush back in its place and proceeding to pet the fur ball.
"Then he has to go for his walk." Hiro reminds Tadashi.
"After that, I have to make sure he gets his flea medicine." Hiro finally finishes, picking the puppy up.
"Oh okay. How about at night?" Tadashi suggests. "Can't Tadashi. It's his first night away from the pet store. I need to be here with him." Hiro says, missing the hurt look on his brother's face.
'Alright calm down. It's only one day. Besides, kid's got a point. It is the first day. In a few weeks, he'll just think of the dog as a nuisance to care for.' Tadashi says to assure himself.
Tadashi watched in awe as Hiro slept through Maximilian licking his face senseless. The not so puppy sized dog anymore was going crazy at the fact that its owner was not waking up.
Maximillian had grown noticeably and was half Hiro's size now. The dog adored Hiro more than anything and it unfortunately bothered Tadashi who didn't care to admit it.
Tadashi lifted the dog away from Hiro and it whined at the action. Tadashi didn't waver at its cries of protest and he carried the dog downstairs to finally spend some time with it for the first time.
"Alright Max. What's so special about you anyway?" He said, saying the dog's name in distaste. Max turned its head to the side and gave Tadashi a puppy face, holding its paw out as well. Tadashi didn't faze. "Ha, don't think that'll work. Hiro's face is easier to give into than that." Tadashi said scornfully.
His younger brother hadn't even looked his way ever since the stupid dog came. At first, Tadashi was happy that the hairy mess brought his little brother so much joy, but now it was annoying. Hiro never had time for him anymore.
"You're not even much to look at." Tadashi said flatly. Max didn't understand what Tadashi was saying, so he did what he normally did. He pounced on Tadashi playfully and swiped at his face playfully, a wide smile on his face. Tadashi was less than amused.
He pushed the dog away who gave a hurt look in response. Tadashi refused to look at the dog. "Pft, you're not so amazing. I'm way more fun than you." Tadashi said.
Just then, he heard footsteps thumping down. Hiro appeared on the staircase with groggy eyes and messy bundle of hair. His tired brown pupils widened in happiness as he saw Max on the floor next to Tadashi.
Wiping his eyes and running a hand through his hair, he barreled down the last few steps and raced to the dog who looked equally as happy. Before Hiro could even reach the dog, Max tackled Hiro down to the floor. Since he'd gotten bigger, Hiro actually fell down from the tackle and Max proceeded to lick his favorite person's face. Hiro giggled like a school girl.
Tadashi watched in mild hatred. "Pft, we've had way more fun than that." He muttered in jealousy.
Max pounced at Hiro like he had tried to do with Tadashi before, but Hiro gave the desired response. He laughed and played back with the dog, looking so happy, it made Tadashi feel guilty about hating the dog.
'It makes Hiro so happy. How could I hate it?' He thought.
He watched as Hiro roughhoused with the dog for a good ten minutes before getting tired.
"Hungry boy?" Hiro asked the dog. Maximillian eye widened and he nodded eagerly. Hiro laughed again. "C'mon let's get you some food." He said affectionately, picking the dog up. Max's crazy eyes widened further at the word 'food' and Hiro walked toward the kitchen.
Tadashi followed, hoping Hiro wouldn't be too busy with the dog today.
Hey Hiro, wanna go to the park today?" He asked with hope. "Sure Tadashi." He replied, pouring Max his breakfast. Tadashi smiled at his response. He finally spared some time for him.
"Alright, let's go." He said, reaching for his jacket. "Gimmie a sec. Max still has to finish his food." Hiro said. "Max?" Tadashi asked, his hopes falling. "Well yeah. If we're going to go the park, Max just HAS to come." Hiro explains as if it were obvious. Tadashi's smile faltered.
'That dog's got to go.' Tadashi thought to himself.
"Hey Hiro, how much do you love that dog?" Tadashi asked.
"Max? Like what? On a scale of 1 to 10?" he asked.
"Yeah."
Hiro smiled wide, showing his tooth gap. "Infinity plus one." He responded. Tadashi frowned. Hiro didn't notice it as he had turned his attention to Max.
When the three of them (to Tadashi's dismay) arrived at the park, Hiro strapped Max to his leash and began to walk. Tadashi followed along halfheartedly.
A few minutes later, Hiro heard the ice cream truck coming and got a hopeful look on his face.
"Can we get ice cream?" He asked. Tadashi's frown deepened and he gave Hiro a sympathetic face. "I'm so sorry Hiro, but I don't have any money on me." He admits sadly. Hiro's smile fades, but comes back as Max rubs his face against the boy's leg. "Ha, it's okay Tadashi. Max is better than ice cream anyways." Hiro says in glee. Tadashi's mood still doesn't settle and the fact that Hiro repeatedly praises the dog for who knows what doesn't help it.
Suddenly, Max darts forward toward something, dragging Hiro along with him. Tadashi followed in confusion.
"What it is it boy? What'd you find?" Hiro asks in anticipation. Max picks something up in his mouth and retreats to Hiro, presenting it to him. Hiro's face lights up.
"Look Tadashi, Max found a five dollar bill. It's like he knew I wanted ice cream. Weird huh?" Hiro said, praising the dog once more.
Tadashi inwardly groaned. 'Unbelievable.' He though bitterly.
"Well let's go." Hiro said, gesturing Tadashi to follow him in pursuit of the ice cream truck. The older brother followed silently.
After getting their ice cream, they sat at a bench. Hiro had a dopey smile plastered on his face while Tadashi used all of his self-control not to strangle the dog.
"You know how I said Max is better than ice cream?" Hiro asked out of the blue. Tadashi nodded wordlessly, not even facing Hiro.
"Well, Max and ice cream is even better." Hiro concluded with a bright smile. Tadashi stared at his little brother, who was too busy paying attention to Max to even notice.
'What am I? A piece of crap now?' Tadashi thought sourly.
Hiro then faced Tadashi and smile even bigger, if possible. "But you know what's even better than Max and ice cream?" He asks. Tadashi gives Hiro a plain look. "Max, ice cream, and the park?" He guessed. Hiro shook his head, stifling a laugh.
"You big fat bonehead. Geez, and you call me that. You know I notice that you got jealous of Maximillian right. I just emphasized it to mess with you. It's pretty hilarious to see you get jealous like that. I was waiting for you to crack, but you never did." Hiro said, bursting into a fit of laughter. Max barked along with him.
Tadashi looked super shocked, then he blushed, then he glared at Hiro. "You little knucklehead. I'm going to give you three seconds to run away before I hunt you down." Tadashi warns. Hiro squeaked in fear and dashed away, Max right behind him.
"THREE!" Tadashi yelled, chasing his little brother. Hiro shrieked with laughter as Tadashi caught him. "Ah! That's cheating! You skipped 1 and 2!" He cried. Tadashi smirked. "I think it's acceptable considering what you did." He said.
"Hey Dashi?" Hiro questioned. "What?" Tadashi asked, secretly glad that Hiro used the nickname. It was the first time he used it since they got Max.
"I'd choose you over Max any day. You know that right? You're the best." Hiro admitted. Tadashi felt extreme happiness in that sentence, but refused to show it to Hiro. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Thanks bonehead." He said softly. "But I don't know about ice cream. You might some second to that." Hiro said teasingly. Tadashi bonked him on the head. "Well guess who's not getting any more ice cream." He said evilly.
"Ha ha. Very funny Dashi." Hiro said. Tadashi remained quiet.
"That was a joke right?" Hiro asked. No response.
"Dashi?" He asked worriedly. Tadashi snickered.
'Ah, sweet payback.' He thought as Hiro looked genuinely concerned about the ice cream.
Lol, jealous Tadashi was fun to write about. I wanted to make him get rid of the dog at first, but I thought that'd be too cliché so I tried to take a different turn with it. Hope you liked.
Anyways, don't forget to review. Love y'all