A/N: Welcome to my drabble/oneshot series! Alrighty, here are some important notes before we get started. First and foremost, these drabbles and oneshots are going to be based off of the AU I set up during Scientist. If you haven't read it, chances are that you're going to be a little lost. If you want to go on, proceed with caution. The most important things you need to know is that in this AU: Tadashi has/had amnesia, is in the process of regaining him memories, was held hostage by Hydra, and has been absent for three years.
Note number 2! These stories will range from cute and fluffy fics to probably dark. There will be lots of friendship bonding stories and stories that explore deep emotions such as guilt and fear. Also expect stories and scenes that I wasn't able to fit into Scientist for whatever reason. I will try to write a brief description before each posting as to what each chapter is about. That way you readers have adequate forewarning. It is also probable that other Marvel character might make cameo appearances. Any major events in the MCU though should be considered as loose interpretations of what happened in the movies. I.E. in this AU, Loki attacked New York City and Coulson did get stabbed; however, Coulson doesn't seem to be playing the "let's pretend I'm dead" game. Just roll with it... because sometimes I'm not even sure...sorry.
Note in the third! Vera, my OC from Scientist, will probably star in a handful of these oneshots. I can't say to how many as this series is just "a post as I write" type thing but don't be surprised if there's some random OC that takes center stage every so often. As in Scientist, my OC is not there to be a love interest. And while we're on the subject of love interests, I should probably put it out there that there probably won't be a lot of shipping in this series if there is any shipping at all.
I thank you all in advanced for your readership and, without further ado, I give you the chapter.
Bugs in the Circuits
Tadashi is stuck in a rut with his latest robotics project. Luckily, he has a friend with an extensive background in Industrial Engineering to help him figure it out. A GoGo/Tadashi friendship bonding fic.
Tadashi spat a string of curses in English before slipping into the Japanese curses. Hiro would've had a field day, yelling "swear jar," if he was around to hear him. He was not though so Tadashi was allowed to have his ire in peace. Tadashi slammed his head down on the work bench and resisted the urge to bang his head repeatedly until his ears bled. Or he gave himself a concussion. Whichever came first. Boy it was a good thing that Baymax was with Hiro too. This new project did not have him in a good mental and emotional state.
Instead of beating his head until he had serious bodily injury, Tadashi split the difference and threw his hands into the air. "I'm just gonna set it on fire!" he yelled at the computer. Yep! That seemed like a good plan.
"Um, if it's all the same to you I'd rather you not set anything on fire. Especially given your track record with fires." came GoGo's dry remark over his shoulder.
Tadashi sat up straight, taken off guard. He turned to see GoGo leaning against the side of the garage door with her arms folded over her chest. Tadashi felt his cheeks go red at the sight of her stern expression. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were there." he said with a wince.
GoGo shrugged. She seemed completely unaffected by the comment. However, Tadashi could see the way she clenched her hands into fists against her sleeves. Tight and wound like a spring. He wasn't sure if he was his still fuzzy memory that had keyed him into GoGo's nervous tick or if it was just his own current perception. Either way he let it go so as not to make GoGo anymore uncomfortable than she was.
She pushed away from the side of the garage and walked to his side inside his home lab. "I don't recommend saying anything like that around Hiro. The image of you and fires together is pretty sensitive." GoGo said.
"Yeah, I can see why." muttered Tadashi as he brushed his fingertips over the horrid burn scars that ran across one side of his face and down his neck. Niether he or GoGo were able to look at each other for a moment. Thankfully, GoGo wasn't the kind of person to linger in discomfort.
"Do you realize what time it is?" she asked him as she raised her eyebrow.
"Umm..." he started as he eyed the clock over her shoulder. "Lunch time?"
"Aunt Cass says you've been down here for nearly five hours. She also said that you were supposed to go to work three hours ago." GoGo said. The grimace on his face must have said it all. GoGo smirked at him. "You forgot didn't you?"
"No! I am technically working. It's the project I'm working on for S.H.I.E.L.D. anyways."
"At home instead of at your fancy S.H.I.E.L.D. lab?"
"Yes..." Tadashi smiled weakly as he ran his hand through his hair. "I've done it before."
"Your boss must love you." GoGo told him with marked but playful sarcasm.
"So long as I get the job done, Coulson doesn't mind where I do it."
GoGo just shook her head and sighed. "I was buying coffee at the cafe andd Aunt Cass asked me if I'd come over and make sure you weren't crushed under a piece of equipment or something. Said she would have done it herself but it's swamped up there. So explain to me why you felt the need to bring your work home with you? And maybe why you're threatening it with a fiery death?"
Tadashi scrunched his nose up in irritation. He flung his arms out at the computer pointedly. "It's this new project I'm working on! I've been running computer sims on it for the better part of three days and it has done nothing but run into figurative brick walls. I brought it home last night hoping to jumpstart it first thing this morning but nope! Still running around back to square one at every turn. And on top of that..."
He cut off abruptly when he heard a strange sound that sounded a lot like GoGo snickering at him. Tadashi glared at her. "This isn't funny. This is serious! I'm on a deadline."
"This is sooo typical you Hamada boy." GoGo's grin was wider than her face. "Nice to see that not much has changed in the past three years you were gone."
"Glad to reassure you of that fact." he replied with an eye roll.
GoGo suppressed her smile, albeit not very well, and patted him on the shoulder. "Once you get to the building stage it will get better. You were always better at that part than computer simulations."
"I actually like the building part." he grumbled under his breath. He cast another at the computer before sighing dejectedly. Tadashi rubbed at his face.
"So what exactly is this project of yours or is it top secret, hush-hush?" GoGo asked as she peered over his shoulder.
"It's an advanced search and rescue droid." he told her as he moved sideways for her to see better. GoGo shot him a look. Tadashi could only assume that she hadn't expected him to be so candid about his work. Okay, so maybe it wasn't all that weird considering that it was a semi-governmental project. Coulson hardly ever gave him projects that came with a security clearance though. "When it's finished it will be able to go into a variety of highly dangerous situations. I've planned to have scanners that will be able to detect victims, either living or deceased, as well as the capability to scan for electronic signals. It will be able to lift a hundred times it's weight to sift through debris and extract trapped victims."
GoGo whistled in appreciation. "I'm assuming that you're basing some of the scanner programming off of Baymax?"
"A little bit but with some modifications. Hiro has already given me full access to his notes on all of his upgrades... or at least the notes he could find."
"That sounds about right for the kid genius. Let me guess though. It isn't the scanners that are giving you issues."
"No," grumbled Tadashi as he levelled a glare at the computer screen. "It's the exoskeleton. I'm trying to find the happy medium between strength and durability in the metal composition. All I can find though is the stress point where the metal snaps in two!"
"Yeah I can see that. Too much of one element makes it fairly heat resistant but completely robs it of its flexibility. Too little of it makes the frame more pliable but turns it into putty when heat's applied." GoGo easily surmised from the log of data on the side of the screen.
"Don't even get me started on the sims I've run for cold conditions." he groaned.
"Any chance you can get your hands on some Wakanda vibranium**?" she asked. Her tone was completely joking though.
Tadashi snorted, "That would be nice except for the fact that there was an incident that halted all mining of that ore."
"Huh?" GoGo questioned.
Tadashi felt the color bleed out of his face. That was bordering on things he wasn't supposed to talk about with anyone. GoGo noticed. "Do me a favor and forget I even mentioned that. It involves the Avengers."
"Right... okay then." she replied slowly. "No vibranium so you have to stick in the land of easily found and readily available."
"Yep, pretty much."
GoGo made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat as she leaned over his chair. Her eyes studied the screen critically. "You said you've been working on these sims for three days now?"
"Yeah and I'm still fairly certain that the next logical step in the process is to destroy it utterly."
"How often have you been taking breaks Tadashi?" GoGo asked seriously.
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. How often do you stop to regroup after putting together a simulation?"
"Um... I haven't." he admitted sheepishly. Why did he get the feeling there was something unpleasant coming?
"So with the exception of maybe a few hours of sleep, you've been staring at this computer program nonstop?"
"Yeah, I guess so." he shrugged. His premonition of something unpleasant happening to him came to pass as GoGo smacked the back of his head. Tadashi gave a yelp and recoiled. GoGo was glaring at him. He rubbed the sore spot on his head and glowered at her. "You gonna tell me what that was for?"
"No wonder you're hitting a brick wall you idiot. You haven't taken any time to let your mind rest. You need to slow down and work with some fresh eyes after so many negative sims. C'mon Tadashi! Seriously! You know that."
Alright, so maybe he did but he couldn't just stop. He was working on a deadline. Even more importantly the sooner he got this project to the building and programming stage, the sooner the robot could be out in the world helping people. Tadashi opened his mouth to protest. Unfortunately, GoGo knew him too well. She held her hand up to silence him. "Save it Hamada boy. I'm sure you have some sort of line about how you want to get this robot out there so it can help people. I heard it a million and one times when you were building Baymax."
He really couldn't stop the irritated look that graced his face. GoGo gave it right back without missing a beat. She also managed to pull his chair away from the desk. "Up!" she told him as she waved him out of his seat.
"Now what did I do?" he whined.
"You've looked at this too long. You need a break. If you have no objection to it, I'll give your simulations a look over and see if I can spot something you might've missed." GoGo explained. Tadashi suddenly remembered that GoGo had a degree in Industrial Engineering. If anyone could give him a fresh perspective, it was her.
He shook his head. "No I don't mind."
"Your boss won't care?" asked GoGo.
"Coulson? No, he encourages scientific collaboration." Tadashi said as he vacated his seat. GoGo slid into it.
"Alright, now go get us some coffee." she directed him.
"I have a coffee pot right over there." he pointed out with a wave towards the coffee pot that he and Hiro shared.
"I mean real coffee. Not that crap that you and Hiro drink when you go on work binges. Besides, you don't need to be hanging over me while I check things out."
"Didn't you just get coffee?"
GoGo rolled her eyes, "Well now I want a danish. So get going."
Tadashi turned towards the garage door. With any luck, GoGo might be able to help him work out the bugs in the circuits. He might not have to set this project on fire after all.
** Wakanda Vibranium is the fictional metal that Captain America's shield is made out of. The incident referring to the cessation of mining is a thinly veiled/vague reference to Age of Ultron. As BH6 isn't technically in the MCU, anything dealing with the Avengers (or other Marvel characters) is pretty loose in its interpretation.