Oxymoronic

Hiro was never afraid of the dark. Not really anyway. Tadashi swears Hiro used to bawl every time the lights unexpectedly went out on him but, yeah, sure. Hiro was never afraid of the dark.

Hiro adores the dark actually. He can't help but allow his lips to curl up into a smile each time he pulls a light switch down. He still rushes to get under his covers and cocoon himself in them but it isn't so the monsters in his closet don't kidnap him. That's something for 10 year-olds, not 14 year-olds. When Hiro runs, it's in anticipation for what comes out in the dark.

"Tadashi?" Hiro whispers, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes faster. He holds his breath while he waits for his brother to reply. Tadashi stirs for a moment, his blankets rustling as he switches to his other side, but keeps quiet. "Dashi..." Hiro sings quietly, holding out the last syllable until his brother snaps.

"Hiro!" Tadashi groans, burying his face into his pillow. Every night is the same. He really should be used to this by now. "Yes, my wonderful brother that has yet to understand the beauty of a good night's rest?"

Finally. Hiro grins in his brother's direction, happy to be acknowledged. "Tell me a secret." Hiro demands, a small giggle slipping out.

"Isn't it your turn?" Tadashi thinks back, clearly being able to remember 24 hours ago when he admitted to an accidental singeing of his eyebrows being the reason he started wearing his baseball cap so much. "Nice try, Hiro."

"But you're better at this than me..." Hiro whines quietly. This was how Tadashi helped Hiro overcome his supposedly nonexistent fear of the dark. If something fearful is turned into something joyful, well, how could it possibly be scary?

When Hiro was 10 and struggling to cope with the fact that he was frightened of anything, he began to develop the worst coping mechanisms. In reality, practically everything scared him, and raising a child that shoves his palms hard enough into his eyes that he topples over each time something makes him jump... Well, it's not the easiest thing in the world. As funny as Hiro's turtle defense was at first, it was a real problem. Hiro would be vulnerable his entire life if he never knew better.

Aunt Cass decided that Hiro's horribly disguised fear of the dark had to be the first to be dealt with. Surely that one magnified everything else. She began asking Hiro every once in awhile if he wanted to walk to the candy shop down the street with her, around eight so the streets were dark as they could be in San Fransokyo with the always bright lights.

"Can I just stay with Tadashi?" Hiro would always answer quickly. See, he thought his family members would read this as a 'I love my brother so much-I don't even need candy' not a 'The candy isn't worth it if I die!' Aunt Cass would sigh and go up to her room after giving Tadashi a shrug. As if to say, 'New tacit?'

Yes, they just needed to look at Hiro from a different angle. Now he just had to find what angle he needed.

"Hiro, I'm going up to bed." Tadashi stretched his arms above his head and yawned to put the point home: he was tired. "Yeah, okay." Hiro immediately dropped the scrap pieces he was playing with-- screwing the bolts together over and over again really. "I'll go up too then." He stayed right behind his brother as they climbed the stairs. Tadashi didn't want to check and risk embarrassing Hiro but he was pretty sure the little boy was holding onto the back of his shirt. It was the smallest presence but it was there. Tadashi found himself smiling.

Different angle. Right.

Tadashi pulled his shirt over his head once they were in the brother's shared room. His jeans soon followed. Hiro took longer to look ready. He fidgeted with everything as Tadashi situated himself in bed. He watched his little brother, tilting his head to the right for a literal new angle. "Wanna play a game?" He blurts out, not sure where he's going with this. It's a hunch. Might as well follow it. Hiro's head snaps up. Game? "Come here," Tadashi chuckles. "Just turn the lights out."

Hiro bites his lip as his hand hovers just above the light switch. The hesitation lasts for half a second but it's there and Tadashi can't help but notice. He almost wishes he had had a camera for that moment. His brother looked so innocent. Hiro runs for Tadashi's bed as soon as the lights are out, tackling his brother."What's the game?" He asks, somehow ending up in Tadashi's lap. How did that happen?

"Okay, so..." Think of something Tadashi! Maybe jumping in blind wasn't a great idea. "Secrets." The idea hasn't even fully formed in his head yet but he's still talking. Why exactly?

"Secrets?" Hiro echoes, his face probably dropping. The dark makes it hard to tell.

"Yes!" Thoughts formed, excitement causes that to come out a bit too loud. He lowers his voice back to a whisper. "Yes, secrets. When the lights are out we tell each other everything, okay? This is an alternate universe almost-- when the lights go back on we don't know anything that was said in the dark."

"I don't get it." Hiro frowns, not understanding why his brother is trying to do. "Give me an example." That's how Hiro learns best after all. He's so smart for his age because he's been watching Tadashi for years, dreaming of following his brother's footsteps.

Tadashi groans, his head falling forward and hitting Hiro's. This earns a soft 'ow' from the boy but neither moves. "I actually don't like Aunt Cass' hot wings. That's a secret and you only know it when the lights are out. When the lights are on... It's a separate reality where you don't. Make sense now?" Slowly, Hiro nods.

"And... We can say anything we want because it's just the two of us..." The dark is a safe place after all. Is that what Tadashi is saying?

"Exactly," a smile spreads on Tadashi's lips. "It's just the two of us and we would never judge each other--I love you too much."

"I love you too," Hiro replies and Tadashi would like to believe it's more than the automatic response that Hiro has programmed in his brain for family. Automatic for Aunt Cass maybe, but not him surely. It isn't just habit when he says it to Hiro anyway.

"So... Your turn. Since I said the thing about the hot wings..." Tadashi's heart pounds for some odd reason. Hiro rests his head on his brother's shoulder, suddenly tired. He hopes his brother will let him stay here for the night. His own bed is all the way across the room. He understands the dark is a safe zone but Tadashi is so much safer.

"Well, I ate a crayon the other day." Hiro yawns, nuzzling his face into the crook of Tadashi's neck. "Brian dared me to and called me a baby so I just did it..." He smiles and teases his brother a bit. "Don't worry, I picked red so it wouldn't stain my mouth." Tadashi can be such a worrywart.

Hiro was never afraid of the dark. Not really. He was afraid of what was lurking. As soon as Tadashi showed him it was okay to cast light on the secrets in the back of his closet, there was no need to be afraid. He knew his brother best in the dark. He loved his brother most in the dark.