ｈｅｙ ｙｏｕｎｇ ｂｌｏｏｄ
“Whoa.”
‘Weird tricks’ was the understatement of the year.
“That’s… unbelievable,” he breaths, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He isn’t sure which is more staggering–the fact that his little brother is alive after all this time, or that he can do… that. Tadashi stares at his phone for a moment before looking back at Hiro. This time, he reaches out to ruffle his thick head of hair. He still has a ton of questions, but it’s late and he’s suddenly aware of how chilly it is so close to the bay. Everything Hiro has to tell him–needs to tell him–can wait until they’re both safely back home, where Hiro belongs. “And I think it’s something that Aunt Cass needs to see, too. What do you say? Let’s go home?”
He ducks his head under his brother’s touch, flinching just slightly—it’s an instinct he can’t help, an uncertainty about close contact with another person, but he doesn’t mean anything by it. He knows he can trust Tadashi. Still, he hesitates. Home (where is home?) sounds nice, and it’s more tempting than any of the half-dozen small candies he’s stolen from vending machines recently, but home is...they might be looking for him there. He doesn’t want to bring that down on them.
....But he wants to go back. And he’s only a kid, and the desire to be home overwhelms his better judgment.
He swallows hard, and his disembodied voice returns to his own mouth. “Okay. Maybe—okay. I wanna go home. For a little while.” Aunt Cass. He sort of remembers her name, can’t remember her face no matter how hard he tries, but he feels a faint warmth at her mention as well as a faint panic. “Maybe...don’t tell Aunt Cass about this?”
He flicks his wrist, and the microbots scurry, breaking around Tadashi as they open the storage container behind him and flow inside to grab his things.
“It’s not...normal. I dunno how to break it to her, and I think she might freak.”
