man your battle stations, we'll have you dead pretty soon

[tadeadshi]

[Panic had run straight through his core when he knew someone had found their safe house. It'd been the best one yet, they had managed to stay there for months now, but it really was too good to last. They still had so much to find and clean up, he wasn't ready. He grabs his bag, the one he kept packed for if they had to run fast, and made for the door but stopped just outside.

It was them. It was the Six, they'd found him and Callaghan. He's not sure how, Callaghan's mods to his collar had jammed their trackers so... It must be something else they used. But if they're here then they could help. They could take over this mess, and he could go home.

Maybe.

Tadashi's throat's gone dry with the dirt and dust kicked up from their landing and scuffle with Callaghan off to the side and he stands watching, swallowing the lump in his throat. Callaghan, that's right, he-- He'd done so much to get them out, he couldn't let the guy just be taken back to prison, he'd be killed from the inside --

He makes a run towards the group, waving and trying to call out but any sound he makes drowned by the shouting.]

Comments

[tadeadshi]

Shouldn't it be in a sling?

[He doesn't know how long ago it was or what's been done with it so far but if he's still having trouble carrying heavy stuff, then he knows Hiro should at least have it in a sling to remind himself not to do it. Tadashi keeps his eyes on the food, carefully picking at his pancakes and eating them slow. Just. Savors that taste, every bite of it. He still wants to try to talk, try to be normal? It's still hard getting his mind working in a normal, brotherly way and not be stuck in panic-fight-or-flight mode.]

What happened?

[microbrobotics]

[ A sling, sure. That'll work great with his armor. He was in way worse pain when he was first starting to recover from the injury but still going out in his armor. At least he'd been able to 3-D print his own cast, which had made things easier. Still way too many nights of PT since then, trying to get full functionality back ...

He huffs a little, not even going to answer that first question. ]

You know that giant, ancient cherry tree in the quad? The one that you're supposed to climb to the top of before you graduate from SFIT or else you're doomed to get the worst jobs ever?

[tadeadshi]

[His chewing slows until he stops and stares at his brother.

So he did go to SFIT. Not only that but he was socializing enough to actually hear about that which is great! But... apparently not enough. He swallows his bite and tries to fight down the anger he has that no one stopped his brother from actually climbing the thing.]

You-- do know that's just a dare right? That doesn't actually happen.

[microbrobotics]

[ It makes him feel a little bad, seeing his brother swallow the lie so easily. Nevermind that he's well-practiced with this story, having had to repeat it to his Aunt and every single doctor he's talked to since then. ]

Dude, I know that. But Fred got it into his head that since he'd been there four years, he had to give it a try --

[ -- he'd been cut off from the others. Bad tactics on Hiro's part, but the handheld stunners the mafia was using were being frightfully effective on the others' more traditional powered armor. But Fred's was basically all vinyl and rubber on the outside, completely immune to the shocks, so Hiro had sent him on ahead-- ]

And he got stuck. Like a cat. I mean, okay, it was pretty high up. He was convinced he was gonna pass out if he so much as looked at the ground.

[ Surrounded by at least ten goons at once; inevitably one was going to get to the metallic undercarriage protecting Fred's head. He'd dropped like a stone. They might have dragged Fred off, taken one of Hiro's friends hostage and exposed all of their identities. ]

So I went up to help him down. That's when I fell.

[ A swift, aerial rescue with Baymax; he'd put Fred down on the roof of a nearby building when the real weapon hit him. An EMP that instantly neutralized Baymax and his flight capabilities. The sudden shock and lack of magnetisation had thrown him from the robot and into an alleyway, fifty feet straight down. ]

Good thing I hit branches -- [ A fire escape ] -- on the way down. Or bad. I guess It's better than a broken neck. [ Or dead, which he would have be if he hadn't been wearing a new flight suit specifically meant to take the brunt of a fall from Baymax.

It all comes out so fluidly and casually. ]

[tadeadshi]

[Fluid and, for all his experience feeling out Hiro's lies, Tadashi buys this one completely. He's got no basis of three years of connection with him or their friends. He only makes it about halfway through his plate of pancakes before nudging it away, a couple bites of eggs. But he is watching Hiro carefully. Tries to gauge just how long ago it really was.

Except one thing.]

How'd Fred get down in the end?

[microbrobotics]

[ Months at this point; they'd gotten a respite from the mafia do to them thinking he was incapacitated. And he kind of was; the initial rounds of pins and casts had been awful. ]

The others did that. [ Came and found him in the alleyway afterwards; they thought he'd died too for a frightening second. ] Shoulda done that in the first place, I guess.

[tadeadshi]

They probably should've, yeah.

[Three bites of eggs and he's done with those too. Too scared to fill up on something this good, he may regret the nausea later of too-much-food-suddenly. He subtly slides it closer to Hiro too, eyes on his brother's face now.]

Really glad you're okay.

[microbrobotics]

[ His gaze drifts back down to the eggs, not quite able to look his brother in the face. Even now, he's not sure he can keep up the lie if he has to stare his brother down at the same time. He wishes his brother would eat more. Did those monsters starve him too? ]

... Yeah. I'm okay. I've just got some wicked pins in my arm now, that's all.

[tadeadshi]

[No!! Just. Too long getting brought shitty take out, after it'd gone cold because they would stop to eat their own and bring Tadashi's after. Only bits of it were ever edible at that point.]

Don't walk by Gogo's lab station then.

[Wait did Gogo even still go to school? Did she graduate already? Did he miss his friends' graduations? The hurt's in his eyes much clearer than it would've been before; a Tadashi by himself (and then with Callaghan) didn't have to try and hide everything from a little brother that needed his support. But here his little brother is and he needs to try to not be the broken thing he is.

He ducks his head behind his glass of orange juice to cover it up. Not as smooth as he could be.]

When'd I get here?

[microbrobotics]

[ That gets a tiny smile. ]

I won't, jeez. I'm smarter than that, at least.

[ He sees that hurt, though. Every time he does is a fresh stab to the heart; a fresh reminder of how bad off Tadashi really is. He hides a wince. Ah, the second half of this ... This lie hes still working on.

Last night, I think. I heard someone come in and ... and you were there.

[ He swallows around the sudden lump in his throat. ]

[tadeadshi]

Did you see who it was? I don't know how long I was out but -

[He wracks his brains, the last thing he knows for sure was being face to face with the Big Hero Six's leader and he reached - His hand goes to his collar and the skin just around the edges. Right...

Wait, no this is bad. He looks back to Hiro concerned again.]

Did they say anything about anyone else being there when they found me?

[microbrobotics]

[ Callaghan. Hi brother's talking about Callaghan. Why is he so concerned about that guy? Wasn't the professor working with the mafia? At least, that was what Hiro had assumed from what few answers he had gotten out of him. Maybe his brother has some kind of Stockholm's towards the guy now.

He has to duck his head to hide his face; otherwise, Tadashi might see the way his jaw clenches. ]

I didn't talk to him at all. I'm not even sure what I saw. Some guy in purple armor?

[tadeadshi]

Yeah, that was him. I guess he didn't stick around to talk.

[So no way to know if he got away okay or what happened to him. But that also means he didn't pass Tadashi's message to them either.

Maybe it's okay. Better Hiro not know what he was saying when he was ready to give up.

He rubs a hand down his face, relaxed himself again.]

Guess he was a little busy to talk.

[microbrobotics]

[ Right, the message. Man, there's no way to back out of that gracefully; better to stick with the lie he has now and have his brother think the Six's leader is a jerk. Helps divorce the two identities. Still, he kind of hates the thought that his brother might think less of his alter ego. ]

Guess so. Should I be watching out for him? ... I mean, it looks like they're good guys on the news?

[tadeadshi]

[Either a jerk or, in Tadashi's thoughts, a bit too busy with keeping his city safe. He didn't have any obligation to pass a message of an on-the-run felon along to his family. But the question of them being the 'good guys' makes his heart sink back to knowing he was building things to take them out; any group fighting against Yama's like that, he'll believe in the good of.]

I'm sure they are, from what I've heard. Hasn't been much, but enough to know they're helping.

[microbrobotics]

[ He can see that in his brother's expression - and he immediately feels guilty again. Because while he knows why Tadashi is making this face, he can't tell Tadashi he knows that. Stupid superhero identities. This is a bad enough conversation even without the minefield. ]

... What's wrong?

[ He has to ask, like he doesn't know. ]

[tadeadshi]

Nothing, nothing.

[He shakes his head, leaning it back against the wall with a little smile. It all worked out, didn't it? At least for him. He's still worried about Callaghan, not knowing where he went. He hopes it wasn't jail. Or back with the mob. But he's safe. He's home and it's thanks to that guy.]

Just wish I could've thanked him for helping me get home.

[microbrobotics]

[ Alter egos. Hiro can't look his brother in the eye for a moment there; it's all he can do to blink hard enough to keep the tears at bay. It's going to be so hard to keep this hidden when his brother says things like that. ]

He probably knows, right? I mean, he brought you here. He knew we were family.

[tadeadshi]

He knew my name, and it wouldn't be hard to trace me back to a, uh college prodigy.

[He'd managed to hear some of it. His information was split between snippets of news reports between projects and some that Robert told him. Enough that he got the picture.

And if nothing else, he can smile proudly at his brother for it all, albeit a tired one.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Unfair. Seeing his brother smile proudly, talk about those accomplishments that had been good but so, so hollow without his brother by his side to see them too - it's too much. This time, at least, he remembers to go slow when he moves to hug his brother. A tiny, wavery sob escapes him before he manages to get it back under control. ]

I'm so glad you're home...

[tadeadshi]

[Ah - With Hiro moving slowly, he can prepare himself for the breach in personal space, enough that even hugging back doesn't feel too unnatural. It still comes across unpracticed (too used to tiny baby brother hugs or someone much taller and bigger) but he's still in disbelief he's home to do it at all. He wishes he could tell Hiro what took so long. Where he was, what happened, wishes he could tell him everything. But his thoughts stall, hitching not only for his own sake - not wanting to think about those things at all, not wanting to recount the things done to him or that he'd done - but also for his brother's safety.

Now that he's here, Tadashi isn't sure what will happen. He and Callaghan had spent so much time just trying to get out and clean everything up that he never really thought this far ahead. Or maybe he just didn't think he'd make it this far. They'd stopped in front of the cafe, once, in the dead of night on their way to a different safe house and he'd looked up at the window, wanting so, so badly to come in, but it just wasn't the right time yet.

Tadashi gives his brother a little squeeze before loosening his hug, not really wanting to lose the contact now that it feels safe, but not knowing what else he should do.]

I'm-- I'm really glad too.

[microbrobotics]

[ Even awkward brother hugs are so, so much better than none. His brother has a long recovery ahead of him - but he's here with Hiro all along? And Hiro gets to see it? He doesn't care. A broken brother still isn't dead. And considering what Hiro's found out about Yama's mafia just from fighting them ... Maybe his brother did pretty well after all. At least he's not missing any limbs.

He leans lightly against his brother afterwards, keeping enough of his weight off Tadashi so that he can move back and have his space back, if he wants. He probably shouldn't do this while his brother is still so delicate, but he can't help it. It's so good to be able to feel his brother there physically present. ]

Were - were you hurt? You've got ...

[ He avoids mentioning the collar, instead looking down at some of the bruises on Tadashi's arms. ]

[tadeadshi]

[Tadashi looks at Hiro when he asks, then follows his eyes to his own arms. Bruised and scarred and just not very happy looking arms, really. He carefully folds his arms, rubbing at them nervously.]

Some of it's from the fire, I don't - [gulp] Don't remember much of it.

[Remembers the heat, the sparks. Sees the flames as clear as day, hears the crackling, himself coughing and shout for Callaghan. Could almost just make out his figure there a few feet away and something dark at his feet and then a whump all around him before it went black.]

The rest of it's just - [Abuse, fighting, beaten, falls, scrapes, -teach you to be insubordinate- ] Long two years, is all. It's fine.

[microbrobotics]

[ Obviously not, he wants to say, but not only does he not want to make his brother talk about awful things when he's clearly gone through trauma ... he's not sure how to tell his brother that he recognizes the difference between the occasional bruise and signs of consistent, painful scarring. Lived the difference, seen it in the rest of the Six too. None of them have come through the last two years unscathed.

Gently, very gently, he puts one hand on Tadashi's arm. ]

Where were you? ... Why couldn't you come home?

[ Doesn't even ask "didn't" there. ]

[tadeadshi]

[His skin twitches on its own at the touch, but he carefully, so so carefully, puts his own hand over Hiro's.

He can't exactly tell him everything. Can't even tell him who he was with or what he was doing. Best to go with the truths he knows he can tell.]

Don't really know where I was. Just... Couldn't get out. Not without help.