Nerd Lab

Tadashi growls under his breath.  “Seriously?! I swear those two are out to get me! One’s at a street race and the other’s at a bot-fight!”

After a quick assessment, he determines that Hiro is closer, so Tadashi goes after him first.  He speeds through the streets and back alleys, stopping just short of the alley the fight is taking place.  Rounding the corner, he can see a large group of people crowded into a small area and immediately knows he’s in the right place.  He pushes through the crowd and gets to the front just in time to see his little brother defeat yet another unsuspecting bot-fighter. Hiro smirks and takes the money.

“Thanks for the fight, I’d love to stick around but I really need to…”  Hiro’s words fall flat when he turns around to see his older brother standing directly behind him, arms crossed and brows narrowed.  “Tadashi!”

“We’re going,” Tadashi states, grabbing Hiro’s wrist and turning to walk through the crowd back to his moped.

Hiro follows obediently. Tadashi shoves Hiro’s helmet onto his head before climbing on and waiting for Hiro to get on behind him. As soon as he feels Hiro’s hands clench onto his shoulders, he takes off.

“Where are we going? Home is the other way,” Hiro asks.

Tadashi shushes him, “You don’t get to ask questions.  Or talk, for that matter.”

Hiro rolls his eyes, but stays silent.

“What were you thinking?” Tadashi throws over his shoulder.

Hiro continues to stay silent.

“Hiro!” Tadashi reprimands.

Hiro smirks, “You told me that I don’t get to talk, yet you still expect me to answer your questions? Make up your mind, Tadashi.  Ah!” He yelps when Tadashi elbows him in the side.

“You really don’t need to be making tonight any harder than it is!”

Hiro frowns at the stressed out tone of his older brother’s voice.  “Tadashi, what’s going on?”

“We need to find (Name).”

Hiro makes the connection quickly.  “She’s at a race tonight?”

Tadashi only grunts as a response, taking a sharp turn to dodge a taxi.  He quickly makes his way to Lombard Street, stopping his moped just at the bottom of the zigzagging road.  A crowd of people that had formed to observe the most intense part of the race started yelling at him to move.  Tadashi ignored them, knowing that you car would soon appear at the top of the hill.

Hiro’s hands squeeze on Tadashi’s shoulders, “Maybe we shouldn’t park here, Tadashi.  We’re right in the path of whatever car comes through.”

Tadashi only shushes him again.  It’s not much longer when a pair of headlights appears at the top.  A sleek street racing car descends the winding road, easily drifting the sharp curves.

Hiro shifts uncomfortably, recognizing your car, but also noticing that you aren’t slowing down.  “Tadashi, what if she doesn’t see us in time…”

Ignoring his worried comment, Tadashi stands his ground.  You begin to reach the bottom of the hill and your headlights land on the familiar obstacle in your path.  You slam on the brakes, and turn your wheel.  The car skids to a stop, your wheels burning rubber, the car just inches from the parked, red moped.

You roll your window down, glaring at the young Asian male, “What the hell are you doing, Tadashi?!  I could have killed you!”

He glares back, not the slightest bit concerned, “Pull over.”

You huff, but do as he says, noticing the other cars starting to come down the hill.  As you pull off to the side, they zoom passed, most of them snickering, now that the lead car is out of the race.  Tadashi parks behind you and keeps a tight hold of Hiro as he makes his way over to your window.

“Move over,” he orders.

You continue to glare, “You really couldn’t have waited for me to finish?  I was in the lead!”

“(Name), move.”

With and annoyed sigh, you unclip your seatbelt and crawl over to the passenger seat.  Tadashi opens the door and moves the seat forward, “Get in,” he tells Hiro.

“Hey, (Name).”  Hiro greets as he climbs into the back.

You grunt in response, crossing your arms and sulking in your seat.

Tadashi moves the seat back and gets in.  “Seat belts,” he instructs, never forgetting about safety.  Both you and Hiro do as you’re told, already knowing that he won’t move until you do.  He easily navigates the stick shift car through the streets, back to the café. Parking next to Aunt Cass’s car, he gets out and moves the seat once more to let Hiro out.  “You’re coming inside,” he tells you, leaving no room for argument.

You roll your eyes, but get out and follow the two of them into the house.  The smell of fresh baked goods wafts up your nose even before you cross the threshold.  You take in a deep breath, the scent already calming you down.  Everyone is silent as you walk up the stairs, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Aunt Cass.

Once upstairs, Tadashi turns on the lights and gestures for the two of you to sit.  Hiro takes the desk chair, while you sit on the edge of his bed.  Tadashi continues to stand, glaring down at the two of you.  “Did you plan this?”

You and Hiro share a look of confusion. “Plan what?” you ask.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Going out on the same night to make things harder on me.”

“Tadashi, we would have been fine.  You worry too much,” Hiro says.

Tadashi frowns, “No, it’s you both who don’t worry enough.  What both of you are doing is extremely dangerous, not to mention illegal. I have every right to be worried about you.”

You let out a soft groan and fall onto your back, “Can we not get into an argument tonight?  It’s really late.”

“You’re spending the night,” he informs you.  “I need to keep an eye on both of you.  As punishment, you’ll both be sharing the bed.”

You move up onto your elbows looking at him incredulously, “Are you kidding me?!  He kicks in his sleep!”

“I’m not sharing a bed with a girl!  That’s gross!”  Hiro cries out.

Tadashi stands his ground, “It’s either share the bed or you both get the floor.”

You’re both quiet for a moment, contemplating your actions.  When your eyes meet, you glare at each other.  “If you try to cuddle me, I’m kicking you,” Hiro states.

“If you kick me, I’m punching you in the face.”