Brothers
26
Ages
Hiro: 10
Tadashi: 18
Alright so this short is an idea I'm using off of a review that a guest posted. It asked for me to write about how Hiro and Tadashi gets lost in the woods. But of course me being me, I'm gonna put some twists in it. Hope you like it
Oh, and in case I didn't mention it before guys, I love all of y'all that like my story. Or even if you don't like it I love you. You're probably a good person at the end of the day.
But seriously, thank y'all for all the support you've given me. I started this story thinking, 'Hey, maybe I'll get like 10 reviews if I'm lucky', but y'all are just so frickin awesome! Your positive feedback just makes me want to keep writing and writing. Thanks again and I hope y'all like this chapter
Normal POV
Hiro lay on the floor of the living room face down, waiting for his older brother to show up any minute. The carpet scratched his nose and he knew he was going to sneeze any second now.
"Hiro honey, why do you insist on laying down on that carpet?" Aunt Cass asked. Hiro smiled from his spot on the ground and decided to get a kick out of his Aunt who always melted at sweet and mushy things.
"Because when Dashi gets home from work, I jump onto him and then he feels so much more soft and comfortable in comparison." He responded.
"Aw! That's so cute Hiro." She gushed, gawking at his form. Hiro tried his best not bust out laughing and stuck to stifling his giggles.
Just then, he heard the door open and immediately he shot up to see his brother.
"Tadashi! You're home! Finally. You're exactly two minutes and 45, 46, 47, well you get the point!" Hiro buzzed, jumping onto his older brother. Tadashi chuckled at his brother's childish action, but hugged him. Then Hiro sneezed, (fortunately for Tadashi away from his face).
"Gosh Hiro bless you. Also, you're starting to get really heavy. I think you're too old to be clinging on to me now." He said teasingly.
"Not true. Everyone says I need to get meat on these bones." Hiro said, holding his arm out for Tadashi to observe.
"Well that shouldn't be too much of a problem for this weekend." His older brother mentions. Hiro cocks his head to the side in confusion.
"What's happening this weekend?" he asks.
"I'm taking you on a trip. I worked it out at the department and talked to Aunt Cass. We're going to Blue Lake for the long weekend." His brother surprised. Hiro's eyes lit up in joy.
"Really?! You don't have to go to work for three whole days?! And we get to go to Blue Lake?!" He asked in wonder.
"Yeah bud. Just the two of us. Aunt Cass refuses to come. Something about too many bugs." Tadashi said, sending a knowing glance to their aunt.
"Yes and I'm trusting you to take good care of Hiro so don't make me regret it young man. You two better be safe." Aunt Cass warned.
"We will be." Tadashi promised.
"So Da- I mean Tadashi, when are we leaving?" Hiro said, catching himself. Last time he called his brother Dashi, a few older kids heard him and made fun of him. Tadashi gave them the glare of death, but Hiro was still embarrassed.
"Tomorrow, so we have to pack today." His brother replied, ruffling his hair. Hiro pulled away from him in annoyance, but quickly it up again.
"This is gonna be so much fun!" He mused, getting out of his brother's hold and running upstairs. Tadashi smiled after him. He felt someone's eyes on him and turned to see Aunt Cass gushing at him.
"Uh, Aunt Cass?" he asked uncertainly. His Aunt squealed in happiness.
"Oh my goodness you two are adorable!" she exclaimed, giving her eldest nephew a big hug. Tadashi was confused, but decided to let it be.
The next day, Hiro woke up even before Tadashi which wasn't normal. He bounced on Tadashi's bed until the older one woke up groggily.
"Wow Hiro. Leave it to you that you'd wake up half an hour earlier than you were supposed to today." Tadashi said, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah yeah. Let's go already. This is gonna be the best trip ever. I just know it." Hiro declared, strapping on his backpack. Tadashi smiled at his brother's excitement. He reluctantly got out of bed, changed and put his backpack on as well.
They both hurriedly ate breakfast, Hiro especially, and they hugged Aunt Cass goodbye. "We'll be super extra safe Aunt Cass. I'll make sure Tadashi doesn't do anything stupid." Hiro said. Aunt Cass giggled at her nephew's antics.
"Thank you Hiro. I'll keep that in mind. Now both of you be careful, come back in one piece, and most importantly, have fun." She said with a final hug to each of them.
"Bye Aunt Cass." they said, heading out the door.
"Bye kiddos. Oh! And remember to take a bunch of pictures as well!" She cried as they left. "We will!" they called back as Hiro shut the door.
"So are we gonna take the moped there? I mean Blue Lake is pretty far from here, isn't it?" Hiro asked in curiosity.
"Nah, we're gonna take the car." Tadashi said nonchalantly, scanning Hiro's face for his reaction.
Tadashi's POV
I saw Hiro freeze up and stop walking immediately. He seemed to hold in a big breath. I was worried that this would happen. I thought maybe that if I treated it like it wasn't a big deal, he wouldn't think much of it, but I guess I was wrong.
"Hey, you okay Hiro?" I ask carefully. He shakes his head, almost as if he was snapping out of a trance. Looking up at me with big eyes he nodded quickly.
"Y-yeah Tadashi. I'm fine." He says with a stutter. I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Hey now. Don't worry about a thing. I checked the car last night to make sure it was all set for us. Nothing bad will happen, I promise." I say to him, hoping to calm his nerves. He nudges my shoulder away to my dismay.
"You don't need to baby me Tadashi. I'm not a scared little kid. I can handle sitting in a car." He says with a bit of attitude. I frown. Not because he's showing me attitude, but because he won't open up to me. I know exactly why he's scared, but I don't know how it feels.
Ever since the accident with mom and dad, he's refused to step foot in a car, which is the main reason I purchased a moped. It doesn't scare him as much. I just hate that he acts like he's so much older than he really is. It doesn't help that he's quit doing all the things he used to do when we were younger. I do my best to respect his boundaries, but he's my little brother. You can't blame me for worrying.
"Alright then, let's get in." I say, opening the back door and dumping my backpack in it. "Need a hand?" I ask as he takes his backpack off.
"I can do it myself." He says flatly, opening the other door and mimicking my actions.
"Well then let's go." I say, climbing in the driver's seat. I wait for Hiro, but a minute passes and he's not inside. I look out the window to see him staring at the car, frozen. I feel bad for him. I want to go out there. Want to tell him I'm here. That he doesn't have to be afraid. I want to give him a big hug, but I can't. I know that that'll only make things worse. He'll only yell at me for babying him and I don't want that. I give him his space and time.
I see him blink and bite his lip. He slowly opens the door and sits down gently. Silence.
"Uh, you gonna put your seatbelt on?" I ask softly. He meets my gaze and nods in remembrance, strapping his belt on. "Thanks." He says lightly in response.
I start the car and smile when he doesn't freak out. That's a majorly good sign. I ease up on the steering wheel and back the car out of the driveway. Hiro seems to be fine, minus the fact that his eyes are as wide as an owl's. At least he isn't having a panic attack.
"You're okay right?" I ask once more just to make sure.
"I'm fine." He says, closing his eyes.
"Okay." I say, driving off. A few minutes in, Hiro starts to visibly calm down. I notice him unstiffen his shoulders and relax his eyebrows from the corner of my eye. He leans his head on the window and just kind of stares at me.
"Um, th-thanks Tadashi. For…you know." He says with a light smile. I grin at him widely. "Anytime." I say. "You're the best." He whispers. "I know." I respond. He smacks my arm and I laugh. Finally, the fun can begin. Luckily Hiro goes to sleep because he doesn't want to feel the motion of driving.
When we finally get to Blue Lake, I park at our log cabin I rented.
"Wow." Hiro breathes, looking at the lake. "That's sick." He mused.
"Right. I got the cabin closest to the lake too." I bragged out, knowing Hiro would be excited. I wonder if he remembers that it's the one that mom, dad, he, and I used to rent out in summers before they died.
"No way!" He said. I nodded smugly.
"Alright, well that drive took pretty much all day, so how about you go get some firewood and I'll set stuff up for s'mores?" I ask. "You got it." He says, walking away. I grab his hoodie before he can leave though.
"Wait up little guy." I start. He glares at me when I call him that so I put my hands up in surrender. "Alright big guy." I correct as he rolls his eyes at me.
"What is it Tadashi?" he asks. "Ground rules. 1. Don't go too far. 2. Don't be out too long. Fifteen minutes until I freak out over you and look for you. 3. Don't talk to anyone you don't know. 4. Be careful. Scream for me if you're in trouble immediately. Got it?" I ask him.
"Got it bro." He says, flashing me a prefect toothed smile.
"Alright. I'm trusting you. Remember the rules." I say, watching him run off in the woodsy area.
Hiro's POV
I was walking around with my hands in my pockets when I finally found the firewood. I grabbed a good amount and headed back, but decided that I would look around for a bit longer. After all, it had only been ten minutes. I still had a whole other five before Tadashi settled on having a panic attack.
This place was beyond wicked. It had a sort of cool/creepy vibe to it. I remember when Tadashi, mom, dad, and I all used to come to Blue Lake before they died. We'd all stay here during summer break. Same cabin and everything. We were a whole family then.
It was easier back then too. I could be a kid and no one would say anything. I could call Tadashi 'Dashi' and not worry what people did or said. I could show fear and be babied all I wanted without worrying what other people thought. I sighed and sat down on a log.
Setting the firewood down, I stared up at the sky. I loved Tadashi, I really did. And it's because of the fact that I love him that I can't show him that I'm afraid of everything from cars to thunder. I can't be selfish like that. That's not something he'd do.
Oh shoot! I lost track of time. Hopefully Tadashi didn't turn into a worry wart and is patiently waiting back at the cabin…..
Wow who am I kidding? He's probably having a spazz attack.
I start back with the firewood, but I'm a complete idiot because I didn't think about how dark it was getting. I couldn't tell where anything was. I was lost.
I wanted to scream. Scream for Tadashi like he told me to, but I couldn't. My pride wasn't letting me. Wasn't letting me yell, cry, or show fear. I simply continued to run, hoping I'd find the cabin by chance.
Tadashi's POV
It had been twenty minutes since I saw Hiro leave. I decided not to freak out after fifteen minutes and gave him a five minutes grace period, but I was starting to get worried. I decided it wouldn't hurt to go into the woods and look for him. I mean, fining an angry and annoyed Hiro was better than finding a hurt one. Or worse, not finding one at all.
I was in pretty deep when I found my baby brother. He was on the floor and I could've sworn that I heard a sob. He was just lying there, curled into a ball.
"Hiro?" I ask hesitantly. I saw him uncurl from his position immediately. He looked up at me with relieved eyes, but he didn't speak a word. I rushed down to him and pulled him in an embrace. He yanked away as soon as I did though. I gave him a hurt look. He didn't meet my gaze though.
"I'm fine Tadashi. You don't need to hug me every single time you see me you know." He tells me. Ironic that this is the same little guy that tackled me in a hug when I came back from the department yesterday.
"That's funny because I recall you hugging me every single day I get back from work." I tell him, trying my best not to sound hurt. He looked at me this time, eyebrows hunched. He looked mildly angry, but mostly annoyed.
"Yeah well when I hug you, I don't give you that look." He says to me sourly.
"What look Hiro?" I ask.
"The look that you'd give a wounded puppy. Like I'm some little baby that's afraid and can't take care of itself. That look." He spits at me. '
I rub my forehead, holding in what I wanted to tell him. Why does he have to keep his emotions bottled up all the time?
"Okay I'm sorry Hiro. I won't give you that look again." I say. He silently gets off of the ground and waits for me to lead us back. Well that proved my suspicion that he was lost. I doubt he was going to admit it though.
"Want some help?" I ask as he's struggling to carry all of the firewood.
"I can do it myself." Is his plain reply. I let it be and we head back to the cabin. When we get inside, Hiro gets into one of the beds and covers himself up.
"Hey, don't you wanna make s'mores?" I ask.
"Not hungry." He mumbles. I feel my face fall. I place the marshmallows back in a cabinet and head to Hiro's bed, preparing a talk.
"Hey Hiro?" I start. I can practically feel his irritation vibrate through me, but he does his best not to show it. He heavily sighs though. "Tadashi not right now. Just, please?" he says. "Alright." I whisper, heading to my own bed.
"Uh hey. Tomorrow we can go swimming." I say to lighten the mood. I don't get a response. Well this sucks. This was supposed to be a fun trip. He's already upset. I wish I could do something, but I don't want to bother him.
The next day, Hiro and I change into our swimming clothes. No words are spoken about last night, but it's still bothering me. I guess I should be happy that he's trying to have fun.
We both jump into Blue Lake, but I can tell that Hiro isn't as into it as he usually is. He doesn't shout in joy or laugh at all. He's just stoic. When we get out of the water, I hand Hiro his towel and he silently dries himself. The quietness is bothering me, so I naturally try to break it.
"If you want, we can make those s'mores now." I suggest.
"Huh? Oh, that's okay, I'm not hungry." He says.
"Well what do you wanna do? We'll do whatever you want." I offer.
"I don't know. Whatever you want to do." He says with a shrug.
"I kind of want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you, though I have a good hunch." I say as nonchalantly as I can. He gives me a look.
"Tadashi there is nothing bothering me." he says, ending the conversation, but I wasn't having any of that BS.
"Hiro c'mon. I know that you're afraid. I think you're afraid of admitting you're afraid and that just adds to your fear." I say gently.
"I'm not afraid Tadashi." He says plainly. I give him a look that says 'I do NOT believe you.' He shakes his head.
"Okay here you go. I'm not afraid. I promise. Wait, how's this? I, Hiro Hamada, am not afraid of admitting I'm afraid. I'm not afraid of anything or may a wolf eat me alive." He says with an eye roll for good measure.
I know he's lying, but there's no way I'm going to get the truth out of him like this so I just let it go.
"Alright Hiro. Fine. I can respect that." I tell him with a nod. He doesn't look convinced.
"You sure about that?" He asks with a raised eyebrow?
"Yeah sure. On one condition. We do something and you genuinely have a good time. I mean, you were so excited to come here in the first place." I say.
"Yeah okay. Let's go in the woods. I want to see if I can find some squirrels. They look so funny when they stuff acorns in their mouths. Their cheeks puff up." He says thoughtfully.
"You got it bud. Let's go." I say with a laugh. I loved it when Hiro said childish things like that.
And so we both set off into the woodsy area.
Normal POV
Hiro and Tadashi were out in the woods for a while now and they were getting a little tired.
"Da- Tadashi, can we go back now? I got enough pictures of squirrels and I'm getting kind of hungry." Hiro said.
"Sure. Let's go." Tadashi agreed.
"And Tadashi? Can we maybe make some s'mores?" He asked.
"Of course. I'm just glad you're finally having a good time." Tadashi answered.
"Me too." Hiro said with a smile.
Just then, a gray wolf approached them. Hiro was in shock, but still managed to snap a load of pictures of it. Tadashi looked genuinely afraid, but not for himself. His gaze went to Hiro and how he needed to get his baby brother out of here.
The wolf growled, causing Hiro to shudder, but he refused to admit he was scared to Tadashi. Utterly refused.
The wolf was odd looking. It had one sapphire blue eye and one midnight back one. It had teeth sharper than a shark and it was vicious looking.
Hiro felt his heartrate increase, but neither he, Tadashi, nor the wolf made a move.
"Hiro listen to me." Tadashi whispered. Hiro instantly shifted his gaze from the beast to his older brother. "I'm going to throw a rock at a tree opposite of us. It'll think someone's there and chase after it. That is our cue to run. Run and don't look back. Run to the log cabin and stay there. Run and don't worry about me. You need to run and run as fast as you can, do you understand?" Tadashi asked.
Hiro's breathing at this rate was unhealthy but he managed to nod to his brother. Tadashi took aim and flung the rock at the tree a ways away from them. But instead of the wolf running toward it, he merely growled, showing more teeth. Hiro was practically struggling to breathe now, too deep in fear.
The wolf howled and began getting closer to the Hamada brothers. Tadashi clenched Hiro's hand tightly and began running as fast as his long legs could carry him, dragging Hiro along.
Both brothers heard the wolf coming behind them. Tadashi was panicking and he lifted Hiro up to carry him and continued to run. Hiro resisted the urge to snuggle into Tadashi, seeking comfort. Instead, he poked his head behind his brother's broad back to sneak a peek at the animal chasing them.
Then, Tadashi tripped over a stick that was laying on the ground. Making sure Hiro landed on top of him, Tadashi gently got up. Hiro got up as well, grabbing the stick in the process. It was long and thick; a perfect defense for now. The wolf was coming closer. They could see it now, charging towards them.
"Hiro you need to get out of here. You hear me? Run! I'll distract it." Tadashi said in determination. Hiro furiously shook his head.
"No way Tadashi. I'm NOT leaving you here. I can't. I-I won't." Hiro declared.
"Hiro please!" Tadashi begged.
The younger boy grasped Tadashi's hand and guided them through the woods. Tadashi was amazed, but didn't have time to marvel on how Hiro was taking charge. He had to figure out how to get back to the cabin. They were definitely lost by now.
"I can't see the wolf Tadashi. I'm going to climb a tree for a better look." Hiro said, hoisting himself up a tree.
"Be careful." Tadashi warned.
Hiro had climbed pretty high up and looked for the wolf. "I can't see anything Tadashi." He reported. Just then, a snake came out of nowhere, startling Hiro into falling out of the tree. He went down hard and groaned in pain. Tadashi rushed to his side in an instant.
"Hiro, are you okay?! Where does it hurt?" Tadashi asked with concern. Hiro shoved him off.
"Tadashi I'm okay. Idon't think my skin is bleeding. My mouth hurts a bit though. Are my gums bleeding?" he asked wearily, opening his mouth. Tadashi immediately gasped.
"What is it?! Is it bad?" Hiro asked. Tadashi looked away.
"Uh, N-nope. It's perfectly fine." He said unconvincingly.
Hiro groaned. "Ugh, how bad is it?" Hiro asked.
"You've kind of got a gap in between your teeth bonehead." Tadashi replied uneasily. Hiro's jaw dropped.
"Just great. Well we can't worry about that right now, c'mon let's keep running." Hiro said, taking Tadashi's hand in his own once more.
Both brothers were getting tired and soon ran out land to run on. They had hit a dead end. A cliff was below them. Water was under it, but neither brother knew how deep it went. It wasn't safe to jump into it. They stopped and panted for a while. The wolf had caught up.
"Hiro don't be scared." Tadashi said to his panting, wide-eyed brother.
"Tadashi for the last time, I am NOT scared, okay?!" Hiro yelled. The wolf advanced on them at this statement. Hiro gasped and stepped back. The poor boy forgot about the cliff behind them and lost his footing. He screamed and fell.
"HIRO!" Tadashi screamed, looking below the cliff. He sighed in sheer relief when he saw that Hiro used his stick and stuck it in the dirt of the cliff to hang on. Hiro's eyes were wide and panic filled.
"O-Okay Tadashi you were right you were SO right! I was afraid. I'm always afraid. I'm scared of cars. I'm scared of thunder. I was scared when you found me in the woods; thinking that you wouldn't come. I thought I was lost forever. I was scared when we saw that wolf. I was scared when it was chasing us. I was scared when you told me not to be afraid even though I told you I wasn't. And Dashi I'm terrified. I'm so scared that the wolf is gonna eat me because I lied to you about not being afraid and I said a wolf would eat me if I was lying and now it's here and it's happening. I was scared when I fell out of the tree and it hurt a lot. My mouth still hurts actually. I'm scared because I have a gap in my teeth, and Dashi I'm scared of letting go. Dashi…Dashi help me!" Hiro rambled in a whimper, tears streaming down his face and meeting the lake.
Tadashi was taken aback. He looked at the wolf who was coming closer to him. Using his instincts and karate techniques, he kicked the wolf off the cliff which fell with a low growl.
"Hiro. Don't worry about the wolf. It's gone. I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen to you and I planned to keep that promise" He said to his little brother, reaching for his hand. Hiro grabbed on for dear life as his brother pulled him up gently.
"You okay?" Tadashi asked. Hiro was about to nod, but instead shook his head vigorously and crashed into Tadashi like his life depended on it. "No Dashi, I am NOT fine. I'm traumatized you idiot!" He cried, sobbing into his older brother.
"Shh, you're gonna be fine. I promise." Tadashi comforted. Hiro sniffled and looked up at Tadashi with warm eyes.
"D-Dashi, I am so sorry." He whispered almost inaudibly.
"Shh," His brother replied, picking him up and carrying him back to the log cabin.
While he carried his baby brother, Tadashi hummed lightly to soothe him. Hiro lightly yawned and allowed his brother to baby him this once.
"Hey Dashi?" Hiro asked.
"What's on your mind?" Tadashi asked.
"Is Blue Lake just filled with the tears of people? Cause I remember when I was crying back there, my tears fell into the lake. Maybe oceans, lakes, and rivers are just the tears of people." Hiro mused groggily.
"Sure Hiro. Whatever you say." Tadashi said with a chuckle. His brother truly knew how to lighten the mood easily.
"Hiro, it's perfectly okay to be afraid sometimes. Don't bottle up your emotions." Tadashi begged once they got back to the cabin.
"I had a good reason to." Hiro defended as Tadashi bandaged his left arm. It had gotten red and sore from being pulled and pushed. (Hiro had used his left arm to jab the stick in the dirt)
"And what could that possibly be?" Tadashi asked, finishing up his handiwork.
"Dashi, you're always bottling up your emotions. You never let me help you deal with this kind of stuff. I didn't want to burden you just as you didn't want to burden me." Hiro admitted, testing his bandaged arm out.
"Don't move your arm like that for a while. And Hiro I'm the older one. It's my job to be strong for you." He defended.
"Wanna make a deal?" Hiro asked.
"What kind of deal?" Tadashi inquired.
"I'll admit when I'm scared if you admit when you're hurting." Hiro proposed.
"Deal." Tadashi agreed.
Hiro held his pinky out and they swore on it.
"Hey Dashi?" Hiro asked.
"What's up?"
"Can we make s'mores now?"
"Ha, sure thing bonehead." He said, pulling out the marshmallows out while Hiro started up the firewood.
Hiro shot his brother a big toothy smile to which Tadashi laughed at. Confused, Hiro sent him a questioning glance.
"It's just that your tooth gap looks pretty cute. You'll definitely be getting whatever you want from Aunt Cass with a puppy dog face." Tadashi snorted.
"Oh shut up." Hiro groaned. "My perect teeth! They've been besmirched!" Hiro said dramatically.
"Oh shut up you big baby." Tadashi said, handing him a marshmallow as Hiro popped it in his mouth.
"Hey check it out Tadashi. Perfect once more." Hiro said goofily as he had stuffed the marshmallow where the gap was.
Tadashi burst out laughing. "Do me a favor Hiro. Never grow up." Tadashi said, handing him more marshmallows.
****Side note. I edited it a bit! I'm so stupid. I told myself that I was gonna put something in here that showed how Hiro got his tooth gap which is why earlier in the story it said "Hiro flashed Tadashi his perfect toothed smile." I don't know if anyone noticed that becuase no one said anything, but that was why. ANyways...yeah :)
Hope that was okay for whoever requested it.
Once again guys, I literally cannot thank y'all enough for all the positive feedback I've gotten. I haven't gotten a single negative comment and I feel so blessed to have you all read these. LOVE YOU!