Past the Pirouettes and the Bets (Hiro X Reader--Short Christmas Story)

Chapter 2

"Hello, Hiro," Aunt Cass greeted her nephew later that same evening as Hiro entered the Lucky Cat Cafe, his backpack slung lazily on his shoulder, his cheeks pink from the cold outside, and his black hair strewn with a few white snowflakes.

Hiro waved and smiled in greeting now at his aunt. "H-hey, Aunt Cass."

"And isn't that snow I see outside!" Aunt Cass cried in glee, running over to the window to see the snow still falling outside, swirling and twirling around and around in the air before coming to rest on the ground, blanketing it in a pure fluffy white. "Come to think of it, Christmas is coming soon, isn't it? Oh, I can feel it in the air already!"

Hiro gulped and nodded sadly. "Y-yeah," he agreed halfheartedly, his composure now crumbling. Even though it's been 2 years since Tadashi's death, he was amazed at how he was still able to spend Christmas with his friends and enjoy himself. Now that Aunt Cass brought up his brother's favourite holiday once more...

"Aww, come on. I don't want to see my 16-year-old nephew looking sad for the holidays!" Aunt Cass cooed, going over to him with a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"T-Tadashi," Hiro muttered. "Aunt Cass, can you possibly imagine how we will spend a 3rd Christmas without him by our side?"

"Hiro. You have your friends, you have (Y/N)--" Aunt Cass started.

But Hiro shook his head. For the past few years he had been masking his feelings--now he had to let them go, and now seemed the most appropriate time to do it. "Everyone says this, Aunt Cass! And guess what? It's been two freaking years since his death, and let me just get to the point right now, Aunt Cass! No one can EVER replace Tadashi! It's like...it's like...it's like a VOID, an empty dark void no one can fill. Not even my friends, not even (Y/N)..."

He sighed and brushed past his aunt now, running up the stairs until he reached his room. The moment his messy bedroom was in his sight, he threw his backpack by the desk and collapsed on the bed, his face buried in his pillow as he began to cry.

Two years. It's been two years since Tadashi had to make that stupid decision to run in and save the one person who turned out to be a villain, who pushed extreme boundaries to get his justice. Tadashi didn't deserve to be left in ashes. If only he was still here, sitting beside him and laughing and singing along to the Christmas music that Aunt Cass puts on during the holidays. To be able to say "Merry Christmas, knucklehead", like he always would every year.

Tadashi was part of his family. And now that he's gone, all Hiro could feel when thinking of him was guilt.

"WHY?!" Hiro screamed into the pillow, his eyes squeezed shut. "WHY did you have to leave me?! Why couldn't you just stay and...and just...just make me not sad? Why couldn't you just stay and help me?! I NEED HELP, TADASHI! JUST COME BACK! PLEASE!"

But all he could hear in return was the echo of his pleas ringing through his ears as he clutched his blanket tight in his fists. Why, why, why did Tadashi have to abandon him like this? Now he wouldn't be able to see his brother, growing up and hanging out like a normal teenager would, with friends, and even a potential girlfriend. You.

You...yes, you were the only thing that kept him going. With your bright eyes and happy smile, he felt his world light up in a whole new way. And even for just a brief moment, your image floated to his mind, forcing him to lift his face up from the pillow and wipe his tears, biting his lip and smiling faintly.

Damn, you still looked beautiful in his mind.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on something familiar sitting on his desk, its limbs sagged on the surface, yet it's yellow smiley face still vibrant as he remembered it being. His megabot.