Who We Are (Hiro x Reader)

chapter twenty-two

Apologies to anyone that found last chapter too dark... but this is a zombie apocalypse AU and I put a warning in the summary & in the preview, so you should've prepared yourself. lol.

As soon as you're outside, Hiro grabs your hand. "Where are we?" you ask.

"Uh... not sure. We can't be far from the parking garage," he says.

You shake your head. "I-I don't want to go back there, Hiro."

"You don't have a choice. We need other supplies." You flinch because he's suddenly being extremely harsh. It's come out of nowhere; he was just being sweet and caring inside. What changed? Does he actually think that you're a monster? "Come on." He squeezes your hand tightly and jerks you forward.

"Ah, Hiro!" you snap, jerking your hand from his grip. You glare at him and then look away. Keeping your hands balled up into fists at your side, you walk ahead to the garage.

"Look, I'm sorry-" he starts, but he doesn't sound it. He still sounds uncaring, annoyed.

"Yeah, whatever," you say.

"___, stop." You don't listen. "You're going to get too far ahead." You move faster. Suddenly, Hiro swings around in front of you, pulling you to a stop and blocking your way to the garage. "___, stop! Do you think this is a joke? You could get trapped if you're on your own. I wouldn't be able to help you if those things grabbed you." He grabs your shoulders and shakes you. "Do you understand? You cannot run off like that! You'll die!"

You start to cry. Your entire body quivers as the tears pour rapidly down your face. "I-I'm sorry," you hiccup.

Hiro shakes his head. "What's the matter with you?"

"I just killed a guy, Hiro!" you shout at him. "I killed a living man."

"He was a monster," he reminds you. "Don't blame yourself. You told me that you would stay strong, didn't you? Well, I need you to be. ___, I'm not as strong as I used to be. I..." He looks down, his grip on your shoulders loosening. You hear his shaky breathing and look up at him. His hair covers his eyes, but you're pretty sure that he's crying. "I... I miss Tadashi. I miss Aunt Cass, and Mochi, and my friends..."

"I know," you mumble. "I try to be strong for you, but..."

Hiro lifts his eyes to look at you. You bite your lip against the tears. "Don't. Don't try to hold back your tears," he whispers. He squeezes you tightly against him. You make fists around his t-shirt at his side. "I'm sorry, you have every right to cry. Crying doesn't make you weak, you know? It's natural."

You let out a loud sob against his chest, pressing your face against his soft shirt. "I'm trying-!"

"You're doing so good," Hiro says. "You're so strong, ___... I love you so much." Maybe it's almost losing you, maybe it's just the fact that you're crying in his arms, but Hiro starts to cry himself. He buries his face into your hair, kissing the top of your head periodically.

After a few minutes, you start to calm down. You're still shaking, so Hiro rubs your back gently. "I won't ever let anything like that happen to you again." You nod and pull back, rubbing your sore eyes. "Are you okay?"

You nod and hiccup, wrapping your arms around yourself. "Y-Yeah. I-I'm okay now."

"Good. Here, let's get that blood off of your hands." He pauses and reaches into his bag for one of the half empty water bottles found in Joey's place. Hiro grabs a tissue and splashes some of the water onto it. He grabs your hands and starts to clean them. While he does, you look around, making sure there isn't danger. Hiro glances up at you. You were so on edge now. "We don't have to go to the garage if you don't want to."

You shake your head and smile a little. "No, no, it's okay. It'll help us get to your friends faster if we have food and you get some rest. And that's what I really want, to be able to find them. Then you can end this and..."

"We can end this," he corrects, cupping your face in his hands and kissing you deeply. "And then you'll never be in danger again."

"Neither will you," you whisper, opening your eyes and looking up at him. A purple shadow is cast right above his jawline. Your fingertips gently graze it. "He hurt you?" you ask Hiro.

"No, no, he didn't," he answers shortly.

"You have a bruise on your jaw," you point out. "He hit you, didn't he?"

Hiro sighs in defeat. "Yeah, he hit me. I was still kind of out of it from when he knocked me out, but I started waking up when he was tying you up. I wasn't tied yet, so I tried to get up. I tried to fight him, but..." He shakes his head and looks away.

"Where else did he hit you?" you ask.

Hiro gulps and forces a smile onto his face. "It... doesn't matter. What matters is getting to the garage. We'll find a car to sleep in, some food... it'll be okay."

"Alright." You decide to not bother him about it now. Hiro nods forward, taking your hand. Both of you walk the short distance the the garage. He doesn't let go of you when you enter. He even keeps his distance from the space between the two trucks where you were attacked.

Hiro opens a small white car and grins. "Oh, man!"

"What?" you ask.

"Gummy bears!" he exclaims, grabbing the pouch and shutting the car door. "Now we've got dinner."

You roll your eyes. "You need real food."

Hiro grabs one of the cans from your hand. "I hardly count chicken noodle soup as food, ___."

"Yeah, me neither," you reply with a loud sigh. You walk around the car to get to the passenger side. You open the door and spot a red purse on the floor. Your eyes move to the back, where three booster seats are. You gulp.

"What is it?" Hiro asks.

"N-Nothing," you say, slamming the door shut. You're not tired, but you're finished with looking. Thinking about who owned what stuff was incredibly difficult to process. That boy owned that box of cookies, his brother the gummy bears, his sister that piece of candy bar. Their only concerns were when their mom would let them eat their candy. Now, they're gone. Probably dead. Your hand is shaking when you wipe the sweat off of your forehead. "Can we find a car to rest in or not?"

"Are you okay?" Hiro asks.

"F-Fine," you say. "I'm fine, I'm just feeling a little sick."

"Okay," he says. "Alright, don't worry. There's a van in the middle. We can take the back of it." He pauses and frowns. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Really, I'm okay."

You want to believe this, but flashes of the scene with Joey keep showing behind your eyelids. Stay with Hiro. You'll be fine. He's here for you. You need him.

You need him.