Hey guys! So this is my first time writing for Big Hero 6, but I absolutely loved the film (as many of you probably did as well), and just wanted to write a little something for it. This is probably going to be only 4 or 5 chapters, but since I love Tadashi so much, I just had to give him a little bit of love! Hope you guys like it!
Chapter 1: The Opening Scene
The first time he met her was at the cafe.
It was a Saturday, early in his semester. He had just began Callaghan's program, and had been hitting the books hard trying to come up with the idea for his robotics project. Today, though, he was helping Aunt Cas at the cafe, because her normal weekend girl was sick and the back up was out of town. So Tadashi donned his apron and set up behind the counter, taking money and handing out baked goods and coffee. She had been one of the first customers of the day, ordering an eclair and a cup of black coffee before posting up at the table in the corner. Her red hair was tucked into a thick braid going down her back, green eyes flying over a computer screen and a notebook. Headphones were in her ears, one booted foot tapping along to the beat. He tried very hard not to stare, but that was difficult with the low amount of early morning customers and the fact that Tadashi found her undeniably beautiful.
Once it got closer to the brunch hour, it was easier to distract himself. More patrons began coming in, and soon Tadashi was trading off cashier duties with waiter duties while Aunt Cas tried to cook and help out front. He stopped by Pretty Girl's table a time or two, making sure to top off her coffee. Each time she looked up, smiled, and thanked him in a soft voice, seemingly overcompensating for the music in her ears.
Brunch time came, brunch time went. Lunch time came, lunch time went. And still the red headed girl toiled on with her laptop and her notebook. Somewhere past two, Aunt Cas made a towering turkey sandwich and took it to her table. Tadashi saw the girl panic for a moment, thanking Aunt Cas and pulling out her wallet. Aunt Cas pushed the girl's wallet away, and Tadashi could hear her say it was on the house. The girl looked incredibly grateful - he had the feeling she had forgotten it was lunch time.
"Aunt Cas, who is that?" Tadashi asked quietly when she returned to the register.
"Her? I don't know her name. She told it to me once, but you know how I am with names." Aunt Cas laughed. "She comes in every Saturday, gets breakfast, forgets lunch while she works, and then orders a nice dinner."
"Every Saturday?" he questioned.
"Yep. Can you believe it? My cafe is part of someone's routine!" she squealed, waving her hands excitedly.
"Aunt Cas I see a lot of the same people stop by for your coffee and sweets, I think you're part of a lot of people's routines." Tadashi pointed out.
"Well when you get to my age, it's the little things that count." she said, patting his shoulder and heading back to the kitchen. He looked to the girl again. Her eyebrows were furrowed at the computer and she was chewing very slowly, as if she might forget any moment that she was actually eating. A couple hours later, she sighed and pulled out her headphones, putting the turkey sandwich down. She leaned back in her chair, covering her face with her hands and let out another breath. Tadashi was impressed - he prided himself on his focus, but he didn't think he had the concentration that this girl did. He thought for a moment before grabbing a cookie out of the case, microwaving it for a few seconds before tossing it on a plate and grabbing the pot of coffee.
"Looks like you need something with a little bit higher glycemic index." he said to her, sliding the cookie onto the table. She pulled her hands away from her face, giving him a grin.
"Studying nutrition?" she asked, giving him a thankful look and taking a sip of the coffee.
"Robotics, actually." he replied. "Just got one of those crazy memories."
"Ah, one of the lucky ones." she said, pulling off a chunk of cookie and eating it. "Are you studying at the University?"
"Yep, in the Callaghan program." he said, a little bit of pride showing through.
"Oh, impressive." she said, raising her eyebrows. "You guys actually built a lot of our lab equipment."
"Oh, no way?" he asked. "Are you studying there too?"
"Mhmm." she hummed with a nod. "Immunology and infectious disease."
"Whoa, that's crazy." he said, genuinely impressed. She gave him a smile. "So are you looking for cures to the common cold?"
"Ha, I wish." she said with a laugh. "My research has to do with picking up specific antibodies detectable by whole body scanners to discover certain infections in a more timely manner than by blood culture." she explained, with a glow in her eye and excited hand movements. He could tell she was very excited about her research, and it was adorable. She noticed his grin, and simmered down. "Sorry, I get a little excited about these things."
"Hey, no judgement here." he said with a shrug. "The first time I got a robot to work, I woke my aunt and brother up at 3 in the morning to come watch it. They were less than impressed, I'll say."
"I would be impressed." she said matter-of-factly. "I can work tech just well enough to function in the lab. Building a robot is way outside of my repertoire."
"Some people build robots, some find specific antibodies detectable by whole body scanners to prevent infections." he said, quirking one side of his mouth up in a grin. She smiled back, her green eyes sparkling.
"I suppose so." she said. She held out her hand. "Bailey Dwyer."
"Tadashi Hamada." he replied, taking her hand in his.
"Do you work here now?" she asked, taking another bite of cookie.
"Not really. My aunt owns it, and her normal workers couldn't make it in today." he explained, gesturing to Aunt Cas in the kitchen.
"Oh, cool!" she said. "Your aunt's place is honestly my favorite place to come to when I need to get things done. Her coffee is divine."
"I will be sure to let her know that." Tadashi said.
"Please do. She has saved my sanity on more than one occasion." Bailey continued, finishing off the cookie. She checked her watch. "Well, Tadashi Hamada, thank you for the cookie and the conversation. Unfortunately I must return to crunching my numbers."
"Hey, no problem." he said, holding his hands up. He took the plate from her, filling up her coffee cup one last time. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks." she said, giving him a grin. He smiled in return, heading back to the cash register.
He didn't get to talk to Bailey the rest of the day. Once the supper rush came in, he was a slave to getting orders and taking them out. Aunt Cas was running around, massive piles of plates stacked on her arm as she tried to get everyone their food quickly. It was Aunt Cas who took the girl's supper order and brought it out to her while Tadashi was taking care of other customers. He was hoping she would stay through the busy hour so he could talk to her again, but about halfway through he looked up to see her table empty. His heart dropped a little bit at the missed opportunity, but he kept his head up. It wasn't until they had a moment to breathe that his spirits lifted.
"Oh, by the way," Aunt Cas said, fluttering behind the cash register to him. "I believe this was left for you." she handed him a receipt. Tadashi looked at it - the person had tipped very well, but the signature was illegible.
"Uh, thanks, Aunt Cas, but I thought we were just splitting the tips tonight?" he asked. Aunt Cas rolled her eyes.
"No, knucklehead." she said, snatching the receipt out of his hand and flipping it over. On the back, in much more legible writing, was written:
Bailey Dwyer
417.555.2155
Cheesy? Yes. But hey, I like cheesy things. I know it's super short, but this isn't really meant to be super long - just something fun and cute that I want to do!
Please please please leave a review and let me know what you think!
-XM