I've had this idea for a while now, and I really wanted to write about it. This may be confusing at first, but don't worry, everything will be explained before the ending.
Have fun!
They were both leaning up against the railing of the bridge. They did nothing but look at the city in front of them for a while, until Hiro finally broke the silence.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So, hum, thanks. For not giving up on me." He said as they looked at each other with soft smiles on their faces. Tadashi was about to answer when a loud, piercing and buzzing alarm sounded through the once peaceful air. They turned around and couldn't believe their eyes, for that was nothing but a living hell.
The school building was up in flames as people attempted to get out. There was not a single part untouched by fire. It wasn't small, for Hiro could swear he was almost being touched by fire itself when he felt that absurd heat.
"Are you alright?" Tadashi asked a woman who was trying to run away.
"Yes, but professor Callaghan is still in there!" They heard she say. Tadashi turned his head to the fire and started to run toward the building. He felt something hold him back, and turned his head to see his brother holding his arm.
"Tadashi, no!" He pleaded, shaking his head slowly as his eyes sparkled in both confusion and fear. "You can't go in there!"
"Somebody has to help". It was the last thing Tadashi said before pulling himself from his brother's hold and sprinting into the building, not noticing that his lucky hat had flew off in the process. Within seconds, he disappeared into the flames, leaving Hiro outside and alone as he reached out and cried his brother's name in vain. He looked down and noticed his brother's hat, holding it in a death grip as his eyes watched the flames; waiting and hoping for his brother to come back out.
"Tadashi!" He cried once more, feeling the tension close his airway as his mind and his heart felt like they were going to burn down just like the building in front of him.
It was when something inside the school exploded, pushing its way outside; knocking Hiro's body. He flew back a substantial length, smacking his head on the ground and blacking out for a moment as his body hurt from the impact. He opened his eyes for a second, looking at the building that was quickly collapsing, every single part of it going down in mere seconds.
And it trapped Tadashi inside, burying him in fire.
"Tadashi..." Hiro cried as he lifted his head. The tears started to go down his face as he held the hat against his chest, unable to move. He tried to call for his brother again, only to find himself chocking when he tried to breath, his throat locked up by his tears. The last thing he was able to think before closing his eyes and passing out was that nothing he could do would be enough to bring his brother back.
Tadashi was gone.
His head collapsed to the floor, his eyelids going down as all he heard and saw was transformed into a blur.
Tadashi was sitting on the same chair he would sit every day for the last month, never taking his eyes off his unconscious little brother. He couldn't help but think how fragile Hiro looked when he was laying down on that hospital bed, seeming to be so small next to those beeping machines and with all those cables attached to his tiny body. The older one sighed again and caressed Hiro's face. The raspy noise he heard every time the air went in and out Hiro's body through the oxygen tube let him know his brother was live, but it also remembered him he had failed.
He failed to protect his brother.
Tadashi closed his eyes as he recalled everything that had happened that night.
He left the building with his brother after Hiro had been invited to join the college. They walked together to the bridge and talked a little. They were about to leave and go meet their Aunt Cass when Hiro slammed his forehead and gave a few steps back.
"Damn it, I left my phone in there. I'll catch up, ok?"
He turned around and started running toward the building before Tadashi could even reply. "Ok, but hurry. They're waiting for us." Tadashi kept watching his brother walk away for a few more seconds before turning around to go meet his friends and aunt, but after his third step, he heard that piercing and buzzing alarm. He partially turned to the building, refusing to believe his sight.
The building was on fire. Not a small one. Tadashi could feel the heat from that far away. He saw people running as loud screams sounded through the air. Turning his head to the right, he spotted his friends and aunt on the corner of the college as they ran away, and he was relieved to see they were safe from the fire. But then his eyes widened as realization hit him and he stared the flames again.
Hiro.
"No. No, no. No!" He shouted as he ran toward the building. He got dangerously close to it, dodging the people coming toward him as he called for his brother. He didn't know how close Hiro was to the building when it exploded, but he was willing to believe he hadn't got inside it. If he had...
"No!" He cried again as he tried to avoid the fire and glass and looked for his brother. "Hiro! Hiro!" Tadashi fell on his knees on the bottom of the staircase, tired and hyperventilating. He begged for an answer, but all he could hear was the fire and the screams. He was about to break down and collapse in tears, fearing the worst, when his eyes caught something.
Lying extremely close to the building door was his brother. He didn't seem to be moving or even breathing and his face was lying down in a pool of blood that dripped from the injuries on his face. His pants were partly burnt and his left foot was lying in a physically impossible way. Tadashi took a deep breath, even if there seemed to be no good air in the middle of that fire, and stood up. The heat was making him weak and dizzy, but he found strength he didn't know he had when he saw his brother.
Tadashi ran close to the body as tears fell from his eyes. He stared at his brother's chest, not allowing himself to look away until he saw it go up and down, meaning breath. After a relieved sigh, he finally grabbed Hiro and carried him away from the fire. He knew he had to hurry, but he also knew that running could worsen Hiro's condition. He walked as fast as he could, but when he reached the bottom of the staircase the building behind him exploded. It knocked Tadashi, throwing Hiro away from his arms. As Tadashi fell on the floor, his heart hurt when he heard the loud thud of his brother hitting the ground.
He lifted his head and saw his brother lying there, a few feet in front of him. Tadashi got up on his knees and crawled to his brother, ignoring the pain he felt due to the fall. Blood kept coming from the injuries on Hiro's head and he didn't seem to be breathing anymore. Tadashi grabbed him by the shoulders and slowly laid him down on his lap and he screamed "Help" at the top of his lungs. He didn't stop screaming until he saw the firemen running toward him.
"Hiro! Wake up!" Tadashi screamed, looking down at his brother, caressing his hair. "Please! You have to wake up!"
He shook his head and bit his lips when he saw no reaction coming from his little brother, tears coming down his eyes and falling on Hiro's shirt. When the doctors finally came to help and took Hiro away from him to put him on the ambulance, Tadashi didn't want to let him go. He watched as they took his little brother away, not sure if he was alive or if he was going to be fine.
"Hiro!" He shouted once more before the doctors closed the doors of the ambulance.
Tadashi wanted to run and follow the ambulance, for he was not willing to leave his brother alone under any circumstances, but then he felt something hold him back. He turned around and saw his friend Wasabi holding his arm.
"Tadashi, are you crazy? We have to get out of here!"
"No!" He said as he tried to run again. "I have to go with Hiro!"
Tadashi fell on the floor, exhausted, as he cried. Wasabi wrapped his arm around Tadashi's shoulder and helped his friend to stand up and walk away. Being as weak and as injured as he was, Tadashi had no other option than to obey and follow his friend. They finally met the rest of their friends and Cass, who wrapped her arms around Tadashi as soon as she saw him.
"Tadashi! I was so worried! Thank goodness you're fine!" Then she looked to either of his sides and then back at his face. "Tadashi..." She started saying as she gulped "Where's Hiro?"
"Hiro..."
Tadashi was brought back to reality when someone opened the door. Startled, he gasped in surprise before taking a deep breath and calming down. He turned his head and saw Aunt Cass enter the room, holding a jacket and a paper bag on her hands.
"Hi, dear." She said with a comforting smile on her face. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine." He sighed, sounding as discouraging as a human being can sound. "It's Hiro you should be worrying about."
She sighed as she walked up to Tadashi and put his jacket around his shoulders. "Here. It's a cold night." She then glanced at the desk and noticed the paper bag she had left there at lunch time remained untouched, making her fold her arms and look at Tadashi with a disapproving look "You didn't eat at all today, did you?"
"I wasn't hungry."
"You have to eat. Unless you want me to take you home and make you eat by force."
"No, I'm staying here until he wakes up." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll eat."
He stood up and walked to her, grabbing the paper bag. Cass looked at her nephew and sighed. He seemed so tired, so exhausted, so... Not there. His eyes were opaque and dark, as if he had never felt any kind of joy in his whole life. His hair was shaggy and messy, for he didn't bother enough to brush it. He had dark circles under his eyes from the sleepless nights and lack of rest. His skin was so pale she would think she was looking at a ghost sometimes.
She then went to the bed and caressed Hiro's face. Even in coma he had a better appearance than his tired brother. Cass sighed and tried to keep the tears from coming down, wiping the ones that eventually escaped her efforts. She smiled as she leaned closer and kissed her younger nephew on the forehead.
"Hello, dear."
She walked away from the bed and wrapped her arms around Tadashi as they both looked to Hiro, but then Tadashi pulled away and sat down on the chair again, back to his "guardian" position. He leaned his elbow on his knee, his head propped up by his hand as he looked at his brother. Cass sighed once more.
"Are you sure you don't want to come home with me tonight? Just for one night. Then you can take a hot shower and have a proper meal. Not to mention sleep in a real bed instead of sleeping in this chair."
"I said I'm staying here until he wakes up."
"Ok, then. Your choice. Call me if anything happens, ok?" She said as she kissed his head before leaving the room. She glanced at the clock and saw that midnight was only half an hour away. "I have to go. I have to work tomorrow. Are you sure you'll be ok?"
Tadashi nodded, never taking his eyes off Hiro. He heard Cass saying goodbye and the door closing behind him.
Tadashi had his back slumped against the chair, his eyes shut and his head hanging off to the side as he tried to fall asleep. It was useless. He was used to sleeping in that graceless position over the last month, but it was not the discomfort that kept him awoken.
It was the fear.
The fear that Hiro was never going to wake up. That sooner or later, he was going to watch them put his brother in the ground to never, ever return. He had had that fear ever since the first day Hiro was brought to the hospital, but after one month, it started to get bigger and bigger. A part of him was in denial, but the part that was actually aware of the risk that Hiro could die was getting more of Tadashi each and every day.
He stood up from his chair. His eyelids kept going down and his body begged for rest, but he walked up to his brother's bed regardless. He sat besides Hiro, being careful not to sit up on any cables as he watched his brother. He glanced at the clock: almost 3am. After a deep breath, Tadashi started to say.
"Hey, Hiro. How are you feeling today?" He watched his brother in silence, not sure if he didn't know what to say or if he actually waited for his brother to wake up and answer him. Maybe both. Tadashi looked at his brother and started crying, shedding one or two tears before trying to make them stop. "Hiro, remember when we were in our room that night and I told you how I protected you from the glass and fire when our parents died in that car crash? Well, I told you I made a promise that night. I promised I would never let anything bad happen with you. That I would be there for you no matter what."
He looked up to the ceiling and put his hand over the bridge of his nose, trying to keep the tears inside his eyes. Then he looked down at his brother's face again, hearing in silence as the air went in and out that small nose.
"I'm sorry, Hiro. I'm sorry I didn't protect you that night. You're lying down on this bed, and I'm not even sure if you're ever going to wake up, but... I love you, Hiro. I love you more than words could ever describe. If only I could make a deal with God and swap our places, I would. If only I could... I'd gladly take your place even if it sent me to Heaven. I'd do anything for you, yet I'm here, impotent. And I... I'm starting to think you may never wake up."
Tadashi finally broke in tears. His eyes got red and his face swelled as the tears started to go down his face and fall on the bed, creating a small puddle of salty water.
"But I didn't bring you up to watch them lay you down, Hiro. I didn't spend the latest years of my life raising you, taking care of you, loving you more than I could ever love anything or anyone else to watch you fade away like that. It nearly killed me the day they put our parents in the ground, Hiro. You were so small; you didn't even understand what was going on. I can't lose you too. Please, don't go away. Please, wake up."
He spent at least 15 minutes crying, trying to hold back the tears as more and more kept falling from his eyes. Tadashi finally allowed all the sadness he kept trying to hold back during the last month to come down as he cried despairingly.
"Hiro, don't leave me. I know you may not wake up, but I need to ask you to try. Try as hard as you can. Try like you never tried before. Hiro, the only thing that kept me alive was your smile. You were the only thing that made me want to try. You remember Baymax, right? Did I ever tell you that on the night I was building him I said 'Wait till my brother sees you'? I worked very hard on him because I wanted you to see it and like it. So please, don't take that away from me."
Tadashi was crying like a baby, trying not to be loud enough to wake up anyone that was on the hospital. He sniffed and gagged, feeling his throat being locked up by his tears and his sadness. His heart started beating so heavily that he could almost feel his chest pulling his whole body down. He felt a mix of anger, sadness and pain as he tugged the bed sheet to wipe his tears with it. After another 15 minutes crying, he finally stood up and walked away from the bed, giving steps back until he slammed his back against the wall and slid to the group. He sat there, hopeless and without a clue.
After breathing in and out several times, he felt calm enough to stand up again and go back to his brother's side. He looked to Hiro's tender face again and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"I love you, buddy. I'm sorry I didn't protect you... I'm sorry. But just so you know... I love you. And if it happens you never come back, I..."
Tadashi wasn't able to finish his sentence. He walked back to his chair and sat down, tired of crying. He felt like he needed some sleep even if his brain wasn't willing to. He wanted to stay awake all night to watch his brother, afraid that he would wake up and wouldn't see Hiro lying there. He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. He reached out for the paper bag Aunt Cass had left on the desk and grabbed an apple, biting it once before throwing it away. His jitters weren't letting him sleep or eat properly, for he already felt a grip on his stomach.
He leaned down and grabbed his jacket that had fallen on the floor, putting it over his chest.
"Good night, buddy. Sweet dreams."
As another tear went down his left eye, he finally allowed himself to get some rest.
"Tadashi... Hey, Tadashi."
Tadashi slowly opened his eyes, his vision slowly getting less and less blurry until he was finally able to identify all of his friends in front of him. Fred's hand was on his shoulder as he tried to wake his friend up. Tadashi rubbed his eyes and yawned before stretching and letting out a tired moan.
"Hey, guys. What's up?"
"We came to see how you were doing." Honey Lemon explained as she gave a soft smile. "And to bring Hiro some flowers."
Tadashi looked at the desk and saw a vase full of white roses.
"Thank you. It's very nice of you. But I'm fine."
"That's not what we heard." Fred tilted his head. "Your aunt Cass told us you haven't slept or eaten in days. You need to take a break from this."
"I know." He sighed. "I know, ok? But what if... What if Hiro wakes up when I'm not here? He needs me."
The friends stopped looking at Tadashi and looked at each other, sharing worried looks. Wasabi folded his arms as he looked at Tadashi and approached him.
"Tadashi, I'm sorry to say this, but it can be actually worse if you're here when he wakes up. He's too weak, who knows what could happen if he woke up and the first thing he saw was you."
"Excuse me?" Tadashi tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. GoGo looked down and broke a gumball before talking to her friend again.
"What we mean is... You look terrible, ok? I'm not going to lie to you. Your hair is messy, your clothes are worn out and when was the last time you took a decent shower? You're nervous, but whether you remain here or not, Hiro's going to wake up when he wakes up. Are you sure you want him to wake up and see you like that? And more, we all know how you tried to protect him and how you saved him from the fire. You did everything you could already."
Tadashi sighed in defeat. Without saying anything else, he walked up to Hiro and kissed him on the cheek, pressing his forehead against Hiro's. "I won't be gone too long, ok? I swear I'll be back as soon as possible. Stay strong."
He didn't notice his hat was on the desk, or maybe he did notice and didn't care enough to pick it up.
He glanced back at his friends and motioned for them to follow him outside. They all ran to meet Tadashi as they waved goodbye to Hiro, who kept laying there in silence. They left the hospital with smiles and laughter, making Tadashi remember what it felt like to smile for a few seconds. But he frowned again just before they left the hospital, looking back at the hallway where his brother's room was.
I'm not giving up on you, he thought, before finally walking through the door.
Hiro opened his eyes.
The light hurt him. He felt like he was staring at the sun. He closed his eyes again quickly, putting his hand over his eyes to adjust his vision to the clarity. When he was finally able to look around, he noticed he was on a hospital room. He glanced at his mouth and noticed the huge oxygen tube helping him to breath. He then sat up on his elbows and noticed his left foot was in a cast, what explained the pain he felt on his leg.
He was confused, for he didn't understand. It took him several minutes before he could assimilate everything. He remembered that night. The fire had knocked him and he had gotten hurt. He remembered Tadashi had entered the burning building to save Callaghan before it exploded.
And he never came back.
Hiro finally understood. Tadashi was dead. He had entered the building to save the professor and died. Hiro wanted to cry, but he felt too weak to do so. He couldn't understand anything; he couldn't understand what was happening. He wanted to cry, but he didn't have the strength to. He wanted to scream, but that tube didn't allow him to. He wanted to hug Tadashi.
But he was gone.
It was when someone turned the door knob. He turned his head and saw a nurse enter the room. When she saw he had his eyes open, she left the tray she was carrying on the desk and ran up to him. She checked his signals on the machines and checked his pressure and heart beating. He moved the tube of oxygen away from his mouth and attempted to talk, but she softly pressed it down, back to his mouth.
"Shh, don't talk. You're still very weak. Keep calm, ok? I'm going to call your aunt to see you. You'll be alright, little soldier."
He nodded before letting his hand fall on the side of his body. Hiro didn't understand how he had gotten that hurt when he wasn't even that close to the fire. Sure, he had fallen when the explosion knocked him down, but it hadn't been that big of a fall. How come that fall broke his foot and made his face get covered in injuries? It was something he wanted to ask, but he couldn't speak yet.
He wanted to ask about Tadashi. About how he had died and they didn't even have a body to burry. Hiro would never have a place to cry over his death. He sighed when he thought about that. He watched in silence as the nurse left and came back seconds later with a doctor. He helped Hiro to sit up, taking off his shirt to hear his heartbeat and monitor his vital signs.
"Hiro Hamada, right?" He asked, and Hiro gave a small nod. "Are you feeling ok?" Hiro looked down at his foot, trying to show he was still feeling pain there, but then he shrugged, as in meaning 'Yeah'. "You must be very confused." Hiro's eyes widened as he nodded, still with the oxygen tube attached to his mouth. "Ok, so, you got seriously injured after the fire. You were in coma for a month."
Hiro would have gasped if he could. For a month? Coma?, he thought. He sure woke up feeling tired and dizzy, but he never thought he had been asleep for a month. Had he been in coma? That scared him more than he expected it would. He pulled the oxygen tube away from his mouth and let it rest on his neck as he tried to speak.
"You shouldn't do..."
"Can I have some water?" Hiro interrupted.
The doctor tilted his head in surprise and the nurse handed Hiro a glass.
"Aren't you feeling too tired to speak?"
"I was right after I woke up, but... Now I'm fine. Not to walk, I guess, but to talk."
"Wow. That's amazing. You know, you still have to stay here for a while, but I think you'll be leaving way sooner than we expected if you're really feeling that well. Everything else seems to be fine, too. That's amazing!" The doctor smiled.
"I graduated High school when I was 13. I'm full of surprises." He chuckled.
The doctor nodded as he smiled, helping Hiro to put his shirt back on.
"Do you think you're ready to see your family and friends? There's someone who really wants to see you."
"Sure." He smiled, but then shrugged. He was not going to see the person he missed the most. Ever again. But seeing his aunt Cass and his friends could really cheer him up.
"Ok, rough boy. We're going to call them. You should get some more rest. We still have a lot of exams to do, but I guess that if you could survive that fire you can survive anything else."
"But I was not that close to the..."
Hiro was trailed off when the doctor's phone rang.
"I need to go, but I'll be back soon. Now you lie down and get some rest, ok? We're calling your family as soon as possible."
A family of two, now. Hiro thought as he waved goodbye. After lying down, he finally noticed the hat on the desk beside him. He felt his heart skip a beat when he grabbed it, holding it against his chest as a tear fell from his left eye. In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter. He didn't care if he had survived a tragedy. He didn't care if he was surprisingly fine. All he cared about was Tadashi.
"I never got to tell you how much I love you." He whispered as he looked at the hat. "I'm sorry."
In that moment, he wished the fire had killed him instead.
Tadashi was on his room, lying down on his bed as he tried to sleep, but kept rolling over and over. He wanted to leave and go back to the hospital, but his friends were down there with his aunt and he knew they wouldn't let him leave that soon. He had taken a shower and his wet hair soaked his pillow as he sighed.
"What if I want to go back to the hospital and stay there for the rest of my life?" He said as he sat up and folded his arms, looking to his feet. He reached out for his hat, only to notice it wasn't at its usual place on the night stand. He tilted his head and then remembered he had left it at the hospital with Hiro.
Hiro.
That name echoed through his head like it was fire. He went to Hiro's part of the room and looked around; smiling at the memories the objects would give him. Everything there seemed to remind him about Hiro; about something he had done with him or he would just picture Hiro using those objects. He could almost see Hiro writing on his notebook, sleeping on his bed and playing with his action figures when he was younger.
Tadashi was about to cry again when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his heart started to beat faster when he read who was calling him. He held his breath, afraid of what he was going to hear if he answered that call. After seconds that felt like years, he gulped and took a deep breath before finally hitting the "Answer" button.
"Yes?" He said, feeling his heart go all the way up his throat.
"Tadashi Hamada?"
"It's me."
"We're calling from the hospital. It's about your brother."
He froze in place. He felt like he wasn't there, like everything he had lived so far was a dream and he was about to wake up to face the dire fate that he was already expecting. His anguish locked his tongue, he stood there with his mouth open for quite some time as he felt his blood run through his veins in a speed it had never done before.
"W-W-What ab-b-bout hi-him?" He stuttered.
"We wanted to let you know he woke up.
Tadashi's friends and Aunt Cass were all startled when they heard a loud, high pitched scream coming from the second floor. They couldn't tell if it was a happy, a scared or a sad scream (although it sounded like a mix of unknown feelings). After they exchanged looks, they all hurried upstairs. None of them was sure of what they were going to find, but for sure nobody expected to find Tadashi jumping on his bed with his phone in hand as he smiled and cheered.
"Tadashi! What's this about? What on Earth are you doing?" Cass asked, approaching him.
"He woke up!"
Tadashi jumped out of bed, nearly falling over Fred and Wasabi, but he rushed to the desk and grabbed his helmet and his keys. He kept running until he was outside, not stopping to talk to any of his friends. They just watched as Tadashi ran to his motorcycle, ignoring their calls, and left the cafe.
"He woke up? What did he mean by that?" Fred tilted his head.
Their eyes widened as realization hit them and they all said at the same time:
"Hiro!"
Tadashi got to the hospital panting as he ran to the secretary's balcony.
"Tadashi Hamada, Hiro Hamada's brother. They called me and said he woke up. Can I see him?" He asked, his eyes sparkling in happiness as they got teary and he panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh, right. They told me you were coming."
"So can I see him now?"
The secretary giggled.
"Calm down, ok? The doctor's coming to help you. But don't worry, your brother's out of risk."
Tadashi looked down as he let out the most relieved sigh anyone had ever heard. His hands were shaking, but it slowly got better after he heard those words. He was smiling so widely one could see it from behind. He felt a tear go down his face, but for the first time in a long time, he let out a tear of joy.
"Thank you." He said at last, "Thank you very, very much."
"Tadashi?"
He turned his head and saw the doctor standing there with a huge smile on his face as well.
"Come with me."
Tadashi wanted to run as fast as he could, slam the door open and hug his brother on the very first moment he saw him and never let him go; but he walked by the doctor's side as he talked about how Hiro was a miracle and a lot of medical things he didn't know or care about. He wasn't really paying attention, all he cared about was the fact that his brother woke up. His brother was going to be fine.
Hiro was not going to die.
As they walked through the hallways, Tadashi's mind flew back to the fire day. He remembered how he felt when he thought Hiro wasn't breathing. He remembered his world fell to pieces when he thought, for a moment, that Hiro was inside the building when it exploded. Tadashi remembered about every single night he spent at the hospital, crying, praying and begging for Hiro to wake up; but also how many times he said "I love you" to his brother when he was in coma. In that month, he said "I love you" more times than he had ever said his whole life.
"Here we go." The doctor said, putting his hand on the door knob. "Are you ready?"
Tadashi's heart started to beat fast. Faster than it had beaten when he saw Hiro's body in the middle of the fire. Faster than when he thought Hiro was never going to wake up. Faster than when he heard that Hiro had woken up.
So fast he couldn't speak. All he did was nod.
The doctor smiled and opened the door.
"Hey, Hiro."
The boy was sitting on his bed, looking to the window as he thought about his dead brother. He caressed Tadashi's hat on his lap with his fingers, not even bothering to look at the doctor.
"Yes?"
"Your brother came to see you."
That was enough to make Hiro turn his face and look at the door. He tilted his head when he saw who was on the doorway. The doctor hadn't lied.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk." He said as he closed the door behind Tadashi.
"T-T-Tadashi?" Hiro said, fear on his eyes.
"Hiro. Hiro. Hiro!"
Tadashi gave small steps before finally running into his brother's embrace. He had tears on his eyes, and held his brother so tight that Hiro could barely breathe. "Oh, my! How I missed you! I thought I was never going to see you again!" Tadashi pulled away to look at his brothers eyes and to kiss him on the cheek before hugging him again. "I am never, ever leaving you alone again. I love you so much! You're the person I love the most in the whole world! Oh, my." Tadashi pulled away one more time, but now he didn't hug Hiro again. He stared into his brother's eyes as he sighed and smiled, tears coming down his face. "How would I be able to live without you?"
Hiro tilted his head, and Tadashi couldn't understand why he didn't look happy to see him, causing Tadashi's smile to become a frown.
"What's wrong, Hiro?"
"Tadashi? But... The fire..." Hiro said, looking to the hat on his lap.
"Hum, yeah? What about it?"
"You died that day. You entered the burning building and it exploded when you were in there. You died."
Tadashi blinked.
"Hiro, that's not what happened that day. You went back there to get your phone, remember? Then when the building exploded, you... You were so close that you got seriously injured. I tried to reach you, but... You were already lying there, I was so afraid... I thought I had lost you."
"Then... How come I remember..."
"You probably had a hallucination before you passed out or during your coma. I was reading about that before I built Baymax."
Hiro gulped, trying to process that new information. He finally looked into his brother's eyes and a smile slowly appeared on his face. In less than one second, Hiro attached himself to Tadashi's body, trying to get as close to him as possible. Maybe even more. He practically suffocated himself with his brother's chest, but he didn't care. As Tadashi recovered from the surprise and returned the hug, he heard Hiro say:
"I thought I had lost you. I was so afraid that you had died and I never once told you how much I love you. How much you mean to me. How much I need you here. Please, don't leave me, Tadashi. Don't leave me. I love you so much, I-"
Hiro trailed off as he choked on his tears, never letting Tadashi go. As tears started to go down the older one's face as well, he pulled his baby brother even closer, resting his head on Hiro's shoulder as he caressed the back of the younger one's head. "When you were in coma, I told you every day how much I love you. I wish you could hear the things I said. I was so scared when I thought I'd never see you again. Hiro, I love you more than I could ever love anyone or anything."
Hiro sniffed and moved to press his head against Tadashi's chest, feeling his heartbeat. Tadashi was not dead. He was there.
Tadashi kept caressing Hiro's head, as he made his best not to pull down any cables or hurt his brother. He was not going to die. He was fine. He kept sighing in relief and he brought his brother closer, never wanting to let go.
"I just wish it hadn't taken a fire to make me realize how important you are to me." Tadashi smiled.
"Same, big brother." Hiro said, sighing and wrapping his arms around Tadashi even tighter. "Same."
It's. Done.
This took way longer than I thought it would, but it also turned out way longer. Probably my largest one-shot so far. I refuse to kill Tadashi in my stories lol. And since I had written one about Tadashi being in coma (My fic "I'm not giving up on you") and there are several ones about that, I decided to write how it would be like if Hiro had been in coma instead.
I actually like Tadashi's character a lot in this. He's always so selfless and so strong in the movie, it was fun to write about him being sad and broken for once.
I hope you enjoyed this! Please R&R. It's 2:40am here now so I think I'll be going to bed after I publish this XD Thank you for reading!
Oh, and don't worry about Aunt Cass and their friends. They all got to see Hiro after Tadashi. I just didn't want to break the moment lol.
