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

[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.

[microbrobotics]

[ Story of their lives right now, isn't it? Both of them cutting huge swaths out of the story, or outright lying in Hiro's case. The difference is that Hiro can see those holes easily, whereas Tadashi is still in the dark. It feels strange and wrong, knowing that his brother isn't telling him everything. And knowing too much about what's been left out... ]

The Six helped you. And ... someone else?

[ He's still not convinced Tadashi doesn't have Stockholm's, but he needs to find out the truth about what Callaghan was doing. ]

[tadeadshi]

[He nods. Still doesn't think he should call him by name; Hiro wasn't there during those encounters, wasn't there when the Six eventually caught up with them. His brother just doesn't know, probably only considers Callaghan as the villain who set the fire and was taken to prison after everything else he'd done.]

Someone else. He was brought in to work with me, but. But neither of us wanted to do any of it, so we worked together. Got away.

[He rubs his free hand down his face, looking at everywhere in front of him that isn't Hiro.]

We were trying to fix things before I came back.

[microbrobotics]

[ Well. His brother sure isn't wrong. Hiro still blames Callaghan for everything, and not without cause. Yama just happens to be the bigger jerk in this situation. And Callaghan did surrender, if only after threatening their secret identities and (obliquely) their lives.

It's that last sentence that catches Hiro's attention most of all. Is that why Tadashi and Callaghan were nowhere near the usual mob headquarters? Why Tadashi hadn't returned home yet? He still bristles at the reminder that he had to come rescue his own brother when Callaghan had him safe and sound. ]

Fix things? Why couldn't you do that from here?

[tadeadshi]

[Something threatens to crumble beneath him at that question; he'd thought about it so much, had wondered about it but ultimately decided it was best not to risk his family's lives until they were done. The hand over Hiro's tightens and he swallows back the lump forming in his throat.]

It wasn't safe to come back here. Not yet. There was a lot of stuff out there we had to get back.

[Had to go get their own tech back so it couldn't just be replicated. Had to make sure any schematics and blueprints were mysteriously destroyed.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro bows his head a little at that. The selfish part of him wants to scream you could have done that from home, I would have helped you - but he can see where Tadashi's coming from, at least. He already keeps so much from Aunt Cass in the name of keeping what's left of his family safe. ]

Is it still out there? You're not - you're not going back out, are you?

[tadeadshi]

No.

[That at least gets an immediate shake of his head. Far as he's concerned, the Six can take over the rest of the clean up now. He's home, finally, after almost three years, he doesn't want to leave. Something he's learned in all this time is how to be selfish, and right now he just -

He just wants to stay home.]

No, I'm not going back out there. I think they - the Six - got enough when they found me they can probably find the rest.

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro's shoulders slump in relief. Oh thank god. He's not sure his heart could take a Tadashi who wants to throw himself straight back out there, with Cal and the mafia and everything else ready to snatch him away again. Hiro will sleep better too knowing that his brother is here and safe.

He nods, finally. Gratefully. ]

They probably do. And - and I want you here too. Just stay and be safe.