Aunt Cass hummed as she trotted down the stairs, exiting her apartment and immediately arriving at her cafe, the Lucky Cat. She enjoyed the short commute time! She started to flip on the lights, singing some song from the '70s with wild abandon. Nobody was there to hear her, after all! Opening time was in about...fifty minutes. It gave her plenty of time to fuel up on coffee and get some treats started in the oven so the early birds would get fresh pastries.
A clatter sounded from the kitchen. Freezing, she turned wide eyes towards the swinging door. Was it a rat? She'd had a rodent problem several years ago, but since Mochi had come to live with them, she hadn't seen as much as a chewed box. A more sinister thought made her skin crawl, so she grabbed an empty platter from the front counter, easing her way into the kitchen. If she had to clobber someone before calling 911, she would.
Her heart pounded. Her hands shook. Anticipation, or probably more accurately, adrenaline and fear, surged through her body. She pulled back with the platter-
"Don't! It's me, Aunt Cassie!"
She dropped the platter. Hiro Hamada...of course. Her four-year-old nephew. She'd been the legal guardian of him and his eleven-year-old brother for a year. The young boy was sitting on the floor like a frog, a screwdriver in his hand as he tore apart her beloved, new mixer. A blender lay beside him, already ravaged.
"What are you doing, Hiro? It's five o'clock in the morning!" she put her hands on her hips. How did a five year old, first of all, get the mixer off of the counter, and second of all, deconstruct it? And what was he building?
"I'm making a 'bot like Tadashi showed me how!" he grinned, exposing his endearing tooth gap.
"I, ah, see that now. Why did you use the mixer? And..the blender?"
"I needed some stuff," he shrugged as if that was a normal thing to do.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked, squatting to see the mostly-assembled robot he showed her.

The little boy shrugged. "Didn't sleep."
Cass groaned inwardly. A five year old who hadn't slept. Today was going to be a long day, she already knew that. "Uh oh. Well, why don't you head up to bed now, and you can work on that later?"
He shook his head, his thick black hair flopping into his eyes. "I'm almost done, Aunt Cassie!"
"I know you are, but you'll do a better job when you're rested up!" Cass grinned, brushing his hair away from his eyes.
"No I won't. I'm not tired, so I wouldn't do any better of a job than I already am. Plus, I'll lose my place." Hiro explained.
Sometimes, Aunt Cass wondered if something was wrong with the young boy. He was way too smart.
"Okay. Well, you can finish up, I guess, and I'll...go to the store and use my company credit card to get another mixer and blender..." she yawned and rubbed her forehead. The kitchen supply store people probably wondered how she could have worn out a mixer in two weeks, because that one lying on the floor had been brand new.

Hiro stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, tweaking a couple of things on the small robot. "Wait 'til I show Tadashi! Thanks, aunt Cassie."
"For...?"
"Letting me use the mixer and stuff," he beamed up at her, stood up, and then took off up the stairs, yelling " 'Dashi! 'Dashi! Wait'll I show you what I made!"
How could she be mad at him? She sighed, deciding to leave the mangled machines on the floor until she came home.