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Hiro Hamada had never had feelings for anyone. He'd never gotten butterflies at the sight of someone, never felt anything when he had his first kiss. And he definitely never wanted a girlfriend. . . or a boyfriend for that matter.
So, when he asked his brother Tadashi why he'd never dated anyone, he felt understood.
Tadashi was surprised by the sudden question. "I just don't like anyone. I never have, and I never will."
Hiro perked up with the answer his brother gave him. "But doesn't that make you feel weird?"
"No. It's just the way I am. There's nothing I can do to change that part of me." He looked at Hiro, his face full of emotion. "You know you can tell me anything, right? That's what big bros are for."
"I know, it's just . . ." He looked away from his brother, playing with the strings of his hoodie. "I don't like anyone either. I never have."
"And that's ok. I'm aromantic asexual, aroace for short, meaning I'm not attracted to anyone romantically or sexually." He shrugged. "Maybe you are too."
His brother's words lifted a weight off his shoulders. It felt so freeing to know that he wasn't alone in not feeling what others felt. He leaned back against his desk, feeling lighter in his own skin after so many months, so many years of feeling like he was the odd one out. "So, I'm aroace?"
"Probably. Look, don't stress about it, ok? Just go with whatever feels right. You're not obligated to pick a label and stick with it your whole life. When I was younger, I thought I was gay 'cause I didn't like girls the way other guys did. But then I realized I felt the same way about guys that I did for girls and thought I was bi. Believe it or not, fanfiction really helped me out and made me realize I was aroace."
At this, Hiro almost fell from how fast he turned to look at his brother. "Hold on, you read fanfic?"
Tadashi chuckled because, of course, this would shock him the most. "Yeah, but not so much anymore."
"Star Wars?"
"Definitely."
"MCU?"
"Duh."
They both had been super into those movies when they were younger. Tadashi had welcomed his little brother into the world of both these franchises, and they would always watch the new movies together when they had time, though that was less and less after Tadashi went away for college.
"Hold on, did you also write?" Hiro's smile widened, already pulling out his phone to see if he could find him in the thousands of works on the fanfiction site he always visited.
"Now that I will not tell," Tadashi replied, getting a groan and a playful shove in response as well as pleas from Hiro.
Tadashi smiled, getting an idea of how he could distract his brother as he was sure that he wouldn't stop asking him about it. He went to his desk and pulled out two black rings. When he returned to Hiro, he handed him one of the rings.
At the confused look on his face, Tadashi explained. "A black ring is a symbol of asexuality. Some people call it an 'ace ring' when you put it on your right hand, middle finger. It's how we show pride." He put one on. "Now we have matching ace rings."
Hiro smiled, putting it on. He looked back at Tadashi, and he put up his hand for a fist bump. They hit their ring hands together, and Hiro pulled it away, saying, "badlalalala."
Tadashi chuckled, feeling proud of his brother. "Speaking of, where's Baymax?"
"Mhm, I think with Fred? Said he wanted to train and then cuddle with, and I quote 'that soft marshmallow.'"
"Sounds like Fred."
A comfortable silence settled around them, and that's when Hiro's mind caught up to the idea that he'd have to tell the others. "Do the others know about you?"
Tadashi looked up from what he was working on, looking at Hiro's worried face. "Yeah, why? Are you planning on telling them?"
"Well, they are my friends. Plus, Fred's been grilling me about this one girl at school that seems to like me, and now I know why it makes me uncomfortable."
Hiro knew his friends would be ok with it. After all, they were all part of the community and were openly out. Honey Lemon was pan, Go-go was ace and bi, Wasabi was trans, and Fred didn't really go by a label, saying he was open to dating anyone.
"Well, there's no rush." Hiro kept looking at the floor, unconsciously gripping and un-gripping his hand, making it ache. He only noticed what he was doing when Tadashi handed him his favorite stim toy, a little rainbow heart plush, soft to the touch, and he could feel himself relaxing just a bit. "You can tell them any time. I'll be there if you want."
Hiro rubbed at the softness of the plushie and looked back at his brother. "Thanks, Tadashi."
For the plushie. . . for everything.
"What big bros are for."