The Rubber Band Theory

Chapter 2: Lucky

     Tadashi's sleep wasn't quite fitful, but it wasn't the best he'd ever had either. He'd fallen asleep alright, but it wasn't long before he was woken up by a strong feeling of fear. He'd shot up in bed, trying to place the source of the emotion, when he saw Hiro's side of the room. Hiro was curled in a ball under his covers, shaking lightly. The air around him was filled with levitating objects. Pencils, pens, cups, tools, wrappers, the stuff on Hiro's shelves: anything lighter than a shoe was floating in the air around him. Tadashi sprang from his bed, batting away objects between him and Hiro. It took a minute or so to calm Hiro enough to wake him. Tadashi didn't exactly want to know what would happen when you startled a kid with telekinesis while he was making stuff fly in his sleep.

     After convincing Hiro to scoot over, Tadashi settled in beside him, and the two slept better. Tadashi's dreams though, they were something else.

     He dreamed of driving. He was small again, sitting in the back seat with his brother. Hiro was tiny, sitting happily in a car seat. It was dark; night-time, he knew. He looked out the windshield idly, seeing two bright headlights in front of them. He heard his parents gasp. He knew. He threw himself on top of Hiro. He had to protect Hiro. He was his little brother, his otouto, and he had to keep him safe.

     The crash was loud. He was thrown forward a little, crashing against the soft-yet-firm back of the seat in front of him. Hiro was crying, but he was okay. They were both okay. Tadashi's head hurt, but he was okay. He curled back around Hiro, calming him down and falling asleep.

     "Tadashi?"

     His eyes snapped open, trying to find the source of the voice. Hiro was watching him with wide eyes. "Hmm? Hiro?" He muttered groggily, not sure why he was awake. "What's up?"

     Hiro reached up a hand and tapped it on air above him. Tadashi blinked up at him, confused. "What are you..." Tadashi looked again, realizing that Hiro had his hand pressed against rippling air. His eyes widened and he looked around, realizing that they were under a dome of the strange barrier. "Oh."

     "What were you dreaming about?" Hiro watched him carefully. He reached out and poked his head. "Did it hurt?"

     Tadashi frowned. "No, it didn't hurt," he said quietly. Hiro frowned a little, but Tadashi didn't notice. "I dreamt about the night mom and dad died."

     Hiro lowered his head, speaking softly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

     Tadashi shook his head, putting a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "No, it's fine. Hiro... I think I know why my head didn't hurt as bad as yours did."

     "What?" Hiro's head snapped back up, his eyes searching Tadashi's. "Why?"

     Tadashi took a shuddering breath. "Because I'd done it before, Hiro. The shield didn't hurt me as much as your... powers... did you because I'd used mine before."

     "What do you mean, you've used them before?"

     Tadashi laid back down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "The night of the crash, when I saw the drunk driver coming, I threw myself over you to protect you." He looked over at Hiro. "Sound familiar? When the police and the ambulance arrived, you and I were fine. They said it was a miracle. You and I were untouched in the destroyed car we'd been riding in, the only injury to speak of was that my head hurt. They just assumed it was from hitting the seat on impact. I don't think it was, Hiro. I think I hurt myself when I shielded us."

     Hiro flopped back down on the bed with a groan. 'And the whole speaking-in-each-other's-heads thing?' he asked silently.

     Tadashi chuckled. 'Haven't figured that one out yet.'