please say you're just kidding
The first inkling the brothers get that anything is amiss is when the students sharing the lab with them all congratulate them, one by one, throughout the day, and then letting them know that they support their relationship even if they were brothers. Tadashi is confused, but politely accepts their well wishes because it would be impolite not to. Hiro is confused and doesn’t have any issue with staring at them all as though they should be in remedial math, not an advanced laboratory in SFIT.
"What the heck is going on?" Hiro hisses to Tadashi under his breath once the last of their classmates is out of earshot. The elder brother shrugs in response, a perturbed look on his face.
Still young and insecure around too many people, Hiro is quick to grab Tadashi’s hand and drag him away to their private lab space, hoping to get away from all the stares.
"It’s not like our collaboration is a big secret! Why is everyone acting so weird about it anyway? What does us being brothers have anything to do with anything?”
Hiro is pacing around their lab, punctuating his frustration with hand gestures until he knocks a prototype carbon fiber exoskeleton off of Tadashi’s desk, at which point Hiro is scooped up and dragged over to the loveseat for a time out. Also known as ‘cuddle’ time’, but Hiro will never admit to that. Or that he enjoys it.
Sure, he may not be the most touchy-feely person in public but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to cuddle. It’s just that Tadashi is the only one he trusts enough for it.
They don’t get as much work done that day as they had hoped, and Hiro ends up frustrating himself to exhaustion by six o’clock, forcing Tadashi to pack up their things and lug his ragdoll of a brother back home. Even in his sleep Hiro clings to Tadashi’s back like a koala, nuzzling into the crook of his neck until hair tickles his skin. It’s been like that since Hiro was a toddler. Tadashi doubts the habit will change anytime soon.
-
The second clue that things are off is the giggling and stares that follow them wherever they go. Most people seem enamored or amused, though there are some who look at them with disgust.
Tadashi hopes Hiro doesn’t notice, but of course his baby brother does. His social anxiety has gotten largely under control over the past few months and Tadashi worries that something like this might set him back. He’s jolted from his thoughts when a small hand links with his; Hiro wrapping his hand tightly around his elder brother’s fingers and tugging him toward their lab while resolutely looking at the ground.
The giggling intensifies.
Tadashi frowns, following his brother to their safe haven.
-
The third clue isn’t a clue so much as it’s a slap in the face.
"So, when were you guys gonna tell us?" Gogo cracks her gum at them, leaning against the entrance to their lab. The brothers look up at her simultaneously with matching expressions of confusion.
"Tell you what?" Hiro asks, clearly doing his best to keep his irritation in check - Tadashi makes a note to treat him for it later. It’s Honey Lemon who answers for Gogo, bouncing in with her hands clasped together in excitement.
"That you were dating, of course!" Hiro blanches and Tadashi can’t blame him. He feels almost nauseous at the thought as well. "You know that we love you and support you no matter what," Honey Lemon adds, this time more gently; a hint of sadness to her tone. It’s almost enough to make Tadashi feel guilty until he remembers he didn’t do anything wrong.
This must be a joke. A really elaborate, out of season April Fool’s joke.
Then Wasabi comes in, looking uncomfortable but determined.
"Look, I… People might think it’s wrong, because it’s against the law - there are laws for reasons! But I know you two would never hurt each other, and you wouldn’t have chosen to feel that way for each other…” The man takes a deep breath to keep himself from getting too worked up. “So… You guys have my support, even if I- I don’t really agree with it.”
Tadashi feels oddly touched and has to actively keep himself from tearing up. He hates what his friends are assuming of them, but this just reminds him of what wonderful people they all are, and how lucky he and Hiro are to have them in their lives.
"You guys, we—"
Fred interrupts by barging in, fully decked out in his mascot regalia and practically buzzing with excitement. Somehow Tadashi isn’t at all surprised. “Is it like, official now? Can we finally ignore that big pink elephant in the room?
It’s at this point that Hiro - now sickly white with a nauseous look to him - lets out a pathetic keen of horror and passes out in his seat.
Their friends look between the two of them as though unsure how to proceed, at least until Gogo snaps her gum again. “Well, I’m out.”
The others follow soon after, with Honey Lemon making Tadashi promise to tell Hiro to feel better on her behalf. When things are finally quiet again, Tadashi stares at his brother and then buries his face in his hands with the groan of a man wishing for his nightmare to finally end.
-
"We’re so close because we grew up scared of losing each other like we lost our parents," Tadashi explains very carefully to his friends, each of them listening attentively from where they’re seated. Hiro pipes in from where he’s perched on his chair beside his big brother.
"I can’t remember a time where Tads wasn’t there being an obnoxious nerd, except when he was at school. We used to sneak into each others beds most nights too."
He shrugs, looking helplessly at Tadashi to continue the conversation. He was always the better speaker between the two of them.
"What Hiro is trying to say is that we grew up co-dependent."
"So his personal space is my personal space," Hiro adds, then grins. "And my personal space is my personal space."
Tadashi gives a half-hearted sigh at that, though it’s clear he’s just teasing by the small smile quirking his lips. “We’re brothers first, and best friends second. And that’s all.”
"If any of you even hint that we’re anything other than that, I swear when I barf it will be on all your stuff.”
"And I’ll make sure to help him do it." With that taken care of, Tadashi sends a sidelong look to his baby brother, gesturing toward their friends with a small jerk of his head.
Hiro nods once, takes a breath, then speaks again.
"So, uh. I guess I should tell you reason number two of why you guys thinking I’m boning my brother makes me wanna vomit, huh? So we can, um. Y’know. Avoid awkward things like this in the future. Because we’re friends and everything."
It’s okay. Tadashi tells him with his body language. Just breathe.
Doing just that, Hiro finds the courage to finish what he started:
"I’m, um. Asexual. So that kinda thing isn’t… Really my thing. At all. So, uh. Yeah. That’s it! Hamada Brother Conference is over now, bye!"
With his younger brother running out before anyone can stop him, Tadashi is left to stare at each of his friends in turn to make sure they understand what was said. They all nod at his silent interrogation, except for Fred.
"Well, we sure messed up big time, huh?"
Yeah.
Yeah, they sure did mess up big time.
But Tadashi can’t stay mad for long - he had decided the night before that he wasn’t even mad at them to begin with. Trying to see things from an outsider’s perspective he could easily see how his relationship with his brother could be misinterpreted. Hopefully now things will settle back down and he won’t have to worry about Hiro’s anxiety around strangers anymore.
"Pick him up some gummy bears and he’ll forgive you," he tells them, offering a wry smile. "And if you want me to forgive you, just make sure to read up on aromantic asexuality when you get a chance.”
Each and every one of them agree, reminding Tadashi once again of just how lucky he and Hiro are to have friends like them. Even if they did think he was boning his baby brother.