Who We Are (Hiro x Reader)

chapter four

"W-What do you mean?" you ask shakily. This isn't real.

"LA fell apart four months ago. We're sorry, ___," Tadashi says.

Overrun with them. I'm...

You shake your head. "They're..."

An orphan. Homeless.

You take in a deep breath and look down at your dirt covered shoes. "Okay. They're gone." They're creepers now. Your stomach churns at the thought of your Mom and Dad munching on some civilian. Your sister in the hands of one of those things. She was barely even one...

With a loud gag, you stand up and sprint upstairs to the bathroom. It's dark and you can't see the toilet, but you find the bathtub. All of your dinner comes right back up. Once your stomach is empty, you continue to dry heave through your loud sobs. The sweat pours down your face and you tangle your fingers into the roots of your hair.

"___-" a voice whispers from the doorway. You turn your head and see Hiro, holding a candle in his hands.

"Go away," you beg pathetically.

He nods, but kneels in front of you. He sits the candle on the edge of the bathtub and grabs one of the white towels hanging on the sink. He places it beside you and quickly leaves, shutting the door behind him.

You let out a loud wail of pure agony as you realize that you're completely alone in this cruel and horrifying world.

                               -

"Do you think she's okay?"

You can hear them whispering about you as you slowly open the bathroom door. You're surprised that it was Hiro that came to your aid, not Tadashi, when you had your breakdown. You exit the bathroom completely and clear your throat. The boys, huddled up next to the boarded up window, turn to look at you. They stand up immediately and wait for you to speak.

"I'm sorry," you whisper. "I didn't mean to have a complete breakdown."

"No, it's completely reasonable," Tadashi says. Hiro nods in agreement.

"I just- I wanted so badly for them to be okay, you know? I didn't want to accept the fact that I'm a-an orphan now." You look down and bite your lip.

"Hey, we are, too," Tadashi says.

You look up. "You lost your parents to them, too?"

"No," Tadashi answers. "We lost them about twelve years ago. Car accident."

"Oh." You cross your arms and look away.

"Maybe we should all get some sleep, yeah?" Tadashi offers.

"Sounds good to me. I'll get you some blankets, ___."

You watch in confusion as the two both gather their flashlights and candles. "Don't you sleep up here?"

"Too dangerous. We sleep in the basement and one of us guards for the night. I guarded last night, so it's Hiro's turn."

Nodding, you grab your backpack and head down with them. Downstairs, Aunt Cass has set up a few gas lamps around the room. A shelf of canned goods sits beside the door, and a few sleeping bags and mattresses stay piled around. Tadashi points you to the mattress closest to the door. You toss your bag onto it and sit down. The red sheet is soft and clean. You smile and fall back on it, chuckling under your breath as the bed takes the shape of your body. You notice Hiro staring at you in concern.

"Sorry," you say, sitting up quickly and tucking your hair behind your ear. "I just haven't seen a bed in a long while."

Tadashi smiles. "Get some sleep. We'll need you bright and early tomorrow morning for a quick run around town."

You nod and unfold the blanket that's on the side of your bed. It's thin, but you can't complain. You spread it over your shivering body and lay back, tucking your arm under the back of your head as a pillow. Hiro slides down the wall and sits a couple of feet from your bed. He takes a long drink of his bottle and blows out the light beside you.

You fall asleep for a few minutes, only to wake up to your own body shivering violently. Teeth chattering uncontrollably, you turn onto your back and curl up.

"Are you cold?" Hiro whispers.

"A l-little," you admit.

He nods. "It's pretty chilly down here at night. Here, take my blanket." He uncovers himself and tosses it over you.

"No-"

"Take it. I'm fine," he assures you. 

"Thank you," you whisper.

"Not a problem."

"No, thank you. For everything. For rescuing me and taking me in." You smile into the darkness. 

"It was my brother's idea to help you. If it were up to me, you'd still be out there." He sighs. "I'm an idiot. I'm so selfish that I'd rather put your life on the line instead of mine."

You swallow. "That's okay. We barely know each other."

"It shouldn't matter," he insists. "I should always help, but I'm not Tadashi. I'm not..." He pauses. "Sorry. You probably want to sleep."

"No, it's okay," you say. "It's kind of hard to sleep now, anyways, since my-" You cut yourself off as your family comes to mind.

"I'm sorry about them," Hiro says. "No one should have to go through that."

"You have."

"Yeah, but I didn't understand. I don't even remember them. Tadashi's the one that hurts." You can hear him shift around awkwardly. "That's why I came to check on you. When I was a kid, I would be playing with Tadashi and he would just stop. He would run away and lock himself in the bathroom all day. I would sit on the floor and talk to him until he'd open the door. I always felt so bad about not remembering them."

"It's not your fault," you say. "You didn't ask to lose them when you were that little. I'm actually kind of jealous."

"Why?"

You let out a small laugh and wipe a tear away from your cheek. "You don't have to remember them. You don't have any pain."

"___," he whispers.

"I'm sorry. I hardly know you. I shouldn't..."

"It's okay," he says. "I - uh - don't mind."

"Thank you," you say. "I really appreciate you talking to me. Guess we're not so different, huh?"

"Guess we're not," he replies with a laugh. You yawn. "You should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah," you agree. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep? I can watch."

"It's alright. I'll be okay."

"Okay," you say. "Goodnight, Hiro."

You lay down and pull the blanket that Hiro gave you up and over your shoulder.

"Night, ___."