Broken Smiles
Title: Broken Smiles
Rating: PG
Pairings: Hiro/Ando if you squint
Summary: Hiro faces shame with a smile.
Broken Smiles
Shame wasn’t something that many people Hiro knew took well. His sister, for example. Kimiko’s face would turn bright red, tears would spring into her eyes but never fall. Her body would then contort into bow after bow as she apologized too much; enough to make any bystander feel slightly ill at ease. His father took shame just as badly, only he would become stony, silent, severe. After uttering a short defensive phrase, Nakamura-sama would then gather what was left of his dignity like a cloak and turn his back on the interloper who had dishonored him.
Hiro was the only one he knew of who faced shame with a smile.
He was used to it after all. The endless pranks, the teasing, the questioning of not only his competence and intelligence, but of his right to even be breathing the same air as the other more conventional, more conforming members of society. The best way to deal with the sting, he’d found, was to wear his happiness like a shield.
“NAKAMURA! You day-dreaming again? Why should we even pay you? I ought to take it up with your father, but he shouldn’t have to know what a weakling his son is.”
Sheepish smile.
“I apologize, sir. It won’t happen again.” His boss rolled his eyes and stomped off.
“You have not been trying, Nakamura. How did you even get into University? Your work is simply unacceptable. You’ll never amount to anything at this rate.”
A quirk of the lips, and one hand rises to rub at the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry, sensei. I promise to try harder.” Her lips pinched into a thin line, but she let him off the hook with a snap of her head to indicate he should leave.
“Hiiiro-chan! Reading comic-books again? You are the oldest child I know! Or maybe those men in tight clothing are what you’re interested in, you freak.”
A grin so blinding that his eyes snapped shut.
“Maa, Tenshi-kun. It’s just a little light reading.” He’d found that this particular response always made Tenshi glare and leave. It was better than some of the other reactions Tenshi had given him in the past involving bruises and stolen lunch money.
“What’s so great about him, anyway? He doesn’t even have any real super powers. Just a lot of money and grappling hooks.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ando-kun! Just because Batman doesn’t have any of the same powers the other super heroes do doesn’t make him less of a hero! I think he’s braver because of it!”
“You get so worked up about this stuff, Hiro. Drooling over flimsy pages of colored panels. Why can’t you just be like everybody else for a change?”
But there’s a smile on his lips and a warmth in his eyes that shows he doesn’t really mean it. A warmth that speaks of affection, companionship, understanding.
Hiro smiles back at him, and for once it isn’t forced.
Rating: PG
Pairings: Hiro/Ando if you squint
Summary: Hiro faces shame with a smile.
Broken Smiles
Shame wasn’t something that many people Hiro knew took well. His sister, for example. Kimiko’s face would turn bright red, tears would spring into her eyes but never fall. Her body would then contort into bow after bow as she apologized too much; enough to make any bystander feel slightly ill at ease. His father took shame just as badly, only he would become stony, silent, severe. After uttering a short defensive phrase, Nakamura-sama would then gather what was left of his dignity like a cloak and turn his back on the interloper who had dishonored him.
Hiro was the only one he knew of who faced shame with a smile.
He was used to it after all. The endless pranks, the teasing, the questioning of not only his competence and intelligence, but of his right to even be breathing the same air as the other more conventional, more conforming members of society. The best way to deal with the sting, he’d found, was to wear his happiness like a shield.
“NAKAMURA! You day-dreaming again? Why should we even pay you? I ought to take it up with your father, but he shouldn’t have to know what a weakling his son is.”
Sheepish smile.
“I apologize, sir. It won’t happen again.” His boss rolled his eyes and stomped off.
“You have not been trying, Nakamura. How did you even get into University? Your work is simply unacceptable. You’ll never amount to anything at this rate.”
A quirk of the lips, and one hand rises to rub at the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry, sensei. I promise to try harder.” Her lips pinched into a thin line, but she let him off the hook with a snap of her head to indicate he should leave.
“Hiiiro-chan! Reading comic-books again? You are the oldest child I know! Or maybe those men in tight clothing are what you’re interested in, you freak.”
A grin so blinding that his eyes snapped shut.
“Maa, Tenshi-kun. It’s just a little light reading.” He’d found that this particular response always made Tenshi glare and leave. It was better than some of the other reactions Tenshi had given him in the past involving bruises and stolen lunch money.
“What’s so great about him, anyway? He doesn’t even have any real super powers. Just a lot of money and grappling hooks.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ando-kun! Just because Batman doesn’t have any of the same powers the other super heroes do doesn’t make him less of a hero! I think he’s braver because of it!”
“You get so worked up about this stuff, Hiro. Drooling over flimsy pages of colored panels. Why can’t you just be like everybody else for a change?”
But there’s a smile on his lips and a warmth in his eyes that shows he doesn’t really mean it. A warmth that speaks of affection, companionship, understanding.
Hiro smiles back at him, and for once it isn’t forced.