Brothers
30
Ages
Hiro: 3
Tadashi: 8
Tadashi's POV
"Hey bud, ready to go?" I asked with a smile. Hiro looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Dashi, I no wanna go." He said stubbornly, attending to his transformer toy.
I kneel down next to him, picnic basket in hand.
"Why not? Aunt Cass worked hard on this meal. We were gonna go to the park and have a picnic. Doesn't that sound like fun?" I asked him with enthusiasm. Hiro turned his entire body away from me, making me frown.
"Hiro, what's wrong?" I ask him carefully.
"I don't wanna go." He replied more firmly.
"Why not? You used to love going on picnics." I point out. He looks at me with a hard face.
"Well I also used to wuv you!" He cried out randomly. I wasn't sure how to respond so I didn't. I just watched him for a while. He was frozen, not even touching his toy.
He slowly turned around and looked guilty. Putting his head down in shame, he poked his lip out.
"I'm sowwy Dashi. I didn't mean it. I wuv you." He apologized. I smile at him.
"Don't worry about me bud. I'm more worried about you. What's up?" I ask him gently.
"It's not the same. Aunt Cass doesn't make the same food as Momma." Hiro admitted, nervously meeting my gaze. I figured he was afraid I'd be mad with his answer.
"Hey, it may not be the same, but it's still awesome! She makes great food. Lots of dessert." I say with a chuckle. Hiro perks up slightly at this bit of information.
"Like gummy beaws?" He asked hopefully. I laugh at him.
"Nope. But there's cookies and cupcakes." I say temptingly. Hiro gets a bit disappointed when I say there's no gummy bears, but looks somewhat pleased that there's teeth rotting goodness in the basket.
"It'll still be fun? Just us?" He asked uncertainly.
"Of course. I'm loads of fun." I defend. Hiro messes with his action figure before mumbling "You have a funny way of showing it."
"What do you mean by that?" I ask him.
He shrugs.
"Hiro c'mon. I'm like the king of fun times." I reason.
"All you do is talk about school." Hiro countered.
"Well I won't if you don't want me to. I can be fun." I say, defending myself.
"Pwove it!" Hiro commands, standing up and challenging me. I can't tell if he's serious or if he's just messing with me. Either way, I've gotta protect my title.
"Alright then." I say, picking him up. He looks at me with curious eyes.
I place him on my back.
"Dashi, as much as I wuv piggy back wides, that doesn't pwove that you're fun." Hiro huffs.
"Oh doesn't it?" Then what does, oh wise one?" I ask in exasperation.
"Nope! Buying me gummy beaws is fun!" Hiro cries out with a sneaky smile.
I roll my eyes. How subtle baby bro.
"That's fun?" I say questionably.
"For me it is!" He says, giggling like a maniac.
"How about I think about it if you come to the picnic?" I offer.
"Deal. Only if you gimmie a piggy back wide." Hiro says with crossed arms. I take this as an opportunity to pretend to drop him.
I lean back and as he's about to fall, he lets out a cry of surprise and fear. He clings onto me as tightly as humanly possible and buries his face into my back.
"Hiro, you okay?" I ask with a snort.
He doesn't answer.
"Bud?" I ask in concern.
"Mmmph oomph agmmph." He muffles in my back, tickling it a bit.
"What?" I ask in confusion.
"Pwease don't do that again Dashi. I'll go to the picnic." Hiro says.
"Sorry bud. I won't, now let's go. Aunt Cass is waiting outside." I say.
"Wait. Pwomise it'll be fun?" He asks hesitantly, thumb in mouth.
"Promise." I say to him.
We head out, Hiro perched securely on my shoulders.
"It's about time you two. Ready?" Aunt Cass asked with a bubbly smile.
"Weady!" Hiro called out, earning him a gush and ruffle of the hair (to his dismay) from our overly eager Aunt.
When we get to the park, Aunt Cass lays out the picnic blanket, I take the food out of the basket, and Hiro stays on my shoulders. Truthfully, it makes my job a little harder, but who am I to crush the little guy's spirit? He's so happy right now and I intend to keep him that way at all costs.
"You wanna eat now?" I ask Hiro.
He slowly gets off of my shoulders and crawls his way onto my lap.
"Wanna swing." He says.
"Go ahead." I tell him with a smile.
"Dashi swing me?" He asks hopefully.
"Yeah okay. Let's go." I say, grabbing his hand. He happily skips along to the swings, dragging me along with him.
"Alright, let's get you on this swing." I say, lifting him up to the baby swings.
"No Dashi!" He cried, fidgeting furiously in my grasp. I put him down in shock.
"What's the matter?" I ask him.
"I'm no baby! I want weal swing!" He cries out childishly. I give an amused look to him.
"You sure Hiro? Those are for big kids." I say to him teasingly.
"Dashi! I am a big kid. I'm like thiiiiis big." He says, stretching his arms out as wide as he can. I laugh at his adorableness before hoisting him up to the swing.
"Alright big kid, push yourself then." I say. He gives me a surprised look to which I return with a raised brow.
"Big kids push themselves." I say to him in an obvious tone. He looks down to hide his sadness from this news and swiftly tries to kick his legs in an attempt to swing himself.
Ten seconds in, he blows a breath of frustration and I see tears coming into his eyes, but he's trying to hide them from me.
"Want me to push you?" I ask him with a smirk.
He gives me a helpless look, almost giving in.
"Y-No! I'm a big kid. I can do it!" He insists with a newly found determined look.
"Okayyy." I say uncertainly, getting on the swing next to him. I start swinging and enjoying the wind in my face. I haven't felt this great in a while. I close my eyes to fully enjoy the feeling. I feel like I'm flying, like I'm free. Sighing in bliss, I swing even higher to the point where I can feel the metal rails holding the swings together wriggle and wiggle about. I laugh softly at the noise and pump my legs even higher.
Then, I remember Hiro and look to my side to see how he's going. I'm met with an empty swing. I quickly scan over the playground to see Hiro near the monkey bars. Walking over to him, I see that he gives me a hurt look.
"Hiro, want me to push you now?" I ask him lightly.
"Nope." He answers quickly.
"Why not?" I ask him.
"Because weally big kids do the monkey baws." He says in an obvious tone.
"I don't know Hiro, it's kind of dangerous." I say worriedly.
"Don't sweat it Dashi. I be safe. Watch." He says, swinging like a real monkey along the bars. He even goes as far as hanging himself upside down and giving me a goofy grin, accenting his teeth gap.
"Alright monkey kid, let's get lunch." I say with a smile.
"Okay." He says, beginning to get down.
I head back, expecting him to follow. What I didn't expect was a cry of pain. I turn my head back so quickly, I might've gotten whiplash. There, on the ground, is my baby brother, clutching his knee in pain.
"Hiro!" I call out, rushing to his side. He has hot tears streaming down his face. "D-Dashi! I g-got an o-ouchie!" He wails in between his crying.
"Shh, you're fine. I'm here. I'm always here for you. Let me see it." I coo to him. His crying subsides a bit. Sniffling, he lets his hand off of his knee and looks away.
"Oh Hiro, you're gonna be just fine. It's only a little scratch." I assure him. In reality, I'm thanking my lucky stars that I remembered to pack the first aid kit in the picnic basket. I want to disinfect the cut and there's blood on it.
He sniffles again and looks at me with sorrowful eyes. "But it hurts." He blubbers in a babyish tone.
"Oh c'mon Hiro. It's not that bad." I say to calm him down.
"But my hand huwts too!" he protests, holding it up for me to inspect. I can see now that he just wants to be babied. Just to make sure, I test him.
"On a scale of one to ten, who would you rate your pain?" I ask him like I usually did, checking the scratches on his hand out.
"A million billion jillion kazillion." He says with a whimper, clinging onto me like a lifeline.
"A million billion jillion kazillion huh? This calls for drastic measures. I'm going to have to pull out the transformer Band-Aids. That okay?" I ask him. Hiro nods into my chest quickly. I hold in a laugh and hug him back.
"We're also going to have to clean the cuts thoroughly. I'm going to have to disinfect them." I explain to him.
Hiro looks up at me in nervousness, but tries to hide it. "Okay Dashi. I can take it. I'm a big kid." He says, puffing out his chest and releasing me from the hug.
"Alright big kid, let's get back to Aunt Cass." I say, beginning to walk back, but stop when I don't hear Hiro's footsteps behind me. I instantly know what he wants, but I decide to baby him about it.
"I'm also going to have to carry you Hiro. You shouldn't walk with an injured knee." I say to him, picking him up. He cries in happy surprise and hooks his arms around my neck for support.
When we get back to the picnic place, Aunt Cass has the food laid out and is waiting for us.
As I'm cleaning Hiro's cuts up, I explain to Aunt Cass what happened who is concerned, but is fine when she sees me taking care of him.
"Dashi!" Hiro cries out, yanking his knee back in alarm.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
"Buwns." He says.
"It burns?" I ask. He nods with a sniffle.
Alright then, I'll be careful. Trust me, this'll make you feel better." I promise. Hiro is reluctant, but still slowly pushes his leg toward me to treat. I quickly clean the cut and stick a Band-Aid on it as he silently winces. Hiro observes my handiwork and gives me a look of approval.
"Alright let's eat now. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." I say to Hiro.
"Me too! I'm weaaalllly hungwy!" Hiro exclaims, pointing to his teeny tiny belly. I laugh at the fact that he's probably going to the just one sandwich and say he's full.
Aunt Cass still hands him a plate with a sandwich, some chips, and salad. Hiro immediately grabs the sandwich and bites into it blissfully.
"Wow there Hiro. Try and takes bites smaller than your face." I say in amusement. Hiro blushes in embarrassment and starts taking smaller bites.
I notice Hiro's blush stayed. Wait a second, that's not a blush. Hiro's left part of his face is a fresh scarlet and it looks really sensitive. I want to write it off as nothing, but can't. As Hiro continues to chew and munch, I stay focused on his face and get really worried. I see Aunt Cass observing his face as well.
I notice Hiro's rubbing his eyes rapidly all of a sudden and his nose is getting pretty runny.
"Hiro?" I question in worry.
"Dashi! I feel weiwd!" he cries out, holding his stomach.
I don't know what to do and Aunt Cass calls the hospital as Hiro starts getting a few hives.
I grab Hiro's plate and observe the food. I don't understand what's wrong. There's just potato chips, arugula salad, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Hold on. Hives, runny nose, rubbing his eyes? Hiro's got an allergic reaction! But to what?
Hiro's wailing again and I get extremely scared. If not treated immediately, Hiro could be in deep trouble.
"Aunt Cass, this is bad, I need to get Hiro to the hospital ASAP. It's only a block or two from here, I'm gonna carry him." I say, picking him up and rushing off before Aunt Cass can even protest.
"Don't worry Hiro, you'll be just fine." I assure him, running as fast as I can.
"Ta-Tada…" He trails off, choking on his words, sobs, and pain. I feel my heart clench. I'm getting more afraid by the second. Hiro could very well stop breathing completely if this wasn't looked at immediately. I don't know what to do except keep on running and never look back.
I finally burst through the revolving door and get my baby bro to a doctor.
"He'll be fine son, you got him here in the nick of time." The doctor said, giving me a pat on the shoulder. I look to Hiro with concern. His swelling is decreasing, but he's still breathing heavily, unable to speak.
"What happened to him?" I ask anxiously.
The doctor checks his clipboard.
"He's had an allergic reaction. Lucky for your brother here, it was only mild. If it was a more severe reaction, he would've been in a whole lot more trouble." The doctor analyzed, confirming my suspicions.
"Allergic reaction to what?" I ask curiously.
"We're actually not 100% sure. List everything he ate all day." The doctor commanded.
"Umm, let's see. He had cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast. Then we had sandwiches and chips and salad for lunch at the park." I list off.
"What was in the salad?" he asks me, scrawling away at his clipboard.
"Hmm, there was lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, green onions, and cucumbers I believe." I list off again.
"I see. And what was in the sandwich?" He asks with a knowing smile. I can hardly see what's so amusing about all this, but none the less, I tell him.
"It was peanut butter and jelly." I say nonchalantly.
"There we go. It was an allergic reaction to peanuts." The doctor said.
"How can you be sure?" I ask him.
"Well, he showed all the signs of a mild peanut allergy. At first I assumed it was a pollen reaction when you mentioned being at the park, but when you mentioned a sandwich, I had an inkling that it was a peanut allergy." He explained.
"Oh. Okay. Well can I see my baby bro now? I'm really worried." I say to him.
"Sure, he should be stable by now." The doctor says, stepping aside from the door. I walk in to see a tired and overwhelmed Hiro.
"You okay bud?" I ask him. He shrugs. "I didn't think anything was wong Dashi. What happened?" He asked me in a groggy morning voice.
"Aww Hiro. You had an allergic reaction." I tell him.
"I don't know what that means, but I'm still weaaaallllly hungwy Dashi. Can I finish my sandwich?" He asks, making grabby gestures with his teeny tiny hands. I give him a weak smile.
"Hiro, you had an allergic reaction to the sandwich. You're allergic to peanuts." I tell him sadly. Hiro's face fell. "You mean, I can't eat sandwiches anymowe?" he asks, poking his bottom lip out in sadness. I melt at the look and want to tell him so badly that he can, but this is one thing I can't give in to. It's for is safety.
"Sorry bud. No peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But I can make you different sandwiches. I'll put anything you want in them." I promise him after seeing tears well at the sides of his eyes. He sniffles and swipes at his eyes quickly.
"Even gummy beaws?" he asks shyly.
"Not sure that'd taste real good, but why not? If that's what you want, you got it." I tell him. He cracks a light smile, but it fades quickly.
"What's up?" I ask him, stroking his cheek soothingly. He pulls away and crosses his arms. Sometimes I hate Hiro's mood swings. I know he's three so it's understandable, but other times like now, they get on my nerves.
"You pwomised." He blubbers.
"I promised what?" I ask confused.
"That it would be fun. Like when mommy and daddy took us. This wasn't fun. I got a boo boo and had to come to the hospital." He says accusingly, pointing to his knee and face respectively. I feel guilty all of a sudden.
"Hey, how about we go to the swings before we go home? I'll even push you." I offer. He shakes his head.
"Nope. I'm a big kid. I can't be pushed." He says solemnly. I feel twice as guilty. Sometimes I forget that Hiro's a kid and doesn't really understand sarcasm. I decide here and now that I'm going to make it up to him.
"C'mon Hiro. We're going back to the park and I'm going to swing you. I always keep my promises, so we're going to have fun." I say in a determined tone. Hiro perks up slightly, but his face falls again.
"But Dashi. I'm no baby. I no be pushed anymowe. You said." He mentions again.
"Well I was just kidding. You can be a big kid and still be pushed on the swings. Okay?" I tell him softly.
"Pwomise?" He asks with his thumb in his mouth.
"Pinky swear." I say, linking our pinkies. He giggles and gets off of the bed.
"My face is bettew, right?" He asks me cautiously.
"Yup." I say, then decide to mess with him just for kicks.
"Oh wait Hiro! There is something on it." I say quickly, picking him up and sitting him back on the bed. He widens his eyes and sucks on his thumb some more.
"Whewe!? What is it?" he asks in his cute baby voice.
"There." I say, flicking his nose. He wrinkles it up in response and shakes his head.
"Gone?" He asks.
"Nope, there's also this." I say, tugging at his ears. He giggles because it tickled him a bit, but still looks at me seriously.
"Now?" He asks.
"Oh no Hiro. You've still got two eyes left on your face." I say in mock drama.
"Well, can you get it off be- Wait! Dashi! You being silly!" Hiro accuses, finally catching on to what I was doing. I burst into laughter and Hiro pouts.
"Say sowwy." Hiro demands, crossing his arms.
"Pft, no way. That was hilarious." I defend between chuckles. Hiro pokes out his bottom lip and pouts some more.
"O-okay, I'm sorry." I apologize, not able to resist the adorableness. Gosh, I need to quit falling for his stupid puppy dog face.
"Now let's swing!" Hiro says happily, hopping off and grabbing my hand.
When we get out of the room, I see that Aunt Cass has made it and is talking to the doctor with a serious expression.
"Aunt Cass, can Hiro and I go to the park? He didn't exactly get to have fun yet." I ask her.
"Honey, I think it's best that Hiro gets home and just relaxes." She says.
I look at Hiro's face and feel horrible. He looks super sad. I can see his true feelings in his eyes. They say 'I'm used to being disappointed'. He's trying his best not to whine and throw a tantrum. I can tell.
"Aunt Cass please? He's had a majorly cruddy day. Please let us go. Only for like ten minutes even?" I beg her. I see her bite her lip in thought. I pray she changes her mind.
"Oh alright. Ten minutes. That's all. If you're not home by then, I'll come get you myself, and I won't be happy," She warns as I run out with Hiro.
When we're at the park and I push him on the swing, I can see that he looks happy now and that makes me involuntarily smile.
"Thanks Dashi. You weally do always keep youw pwomises." Hiro cries happily as he flies into the air.
"Anytime." I reply, enjoying the fact that he's having fun.
So this was a request from Gossip Girl and Jessieklove. The reason I didn't make it a cuckoo crazy allergic reaction was because it said Hiro had a mild allergy and so it wouldn't be severely anaphylactic. Take it from someone who has friends that have peanut allergies.
Anyways, I didn't want to write what the request was on at the beginning because that would've sort of spoiled it and it would've been boring in my opinion if you already knew what was gonna happen. I tries my best to have an element of surprise so I hope that was okay.
-Girl you wouldn't expect