**A.N.: I figured Valentine's day was as good an excuse as any to post the first oneshot.**
Midterms were just around the corner, and each student in the robotics lab was scrambling to get their project to an acceptable form to present to their respective mentors. There was not a single person who though his or her project was even close to complete, no matter how good it was, and an overlying feeling of stress pervaded the room.
Tadashi had been forbidden from trying to turn on Baymax, even though he had recently introduced an internal battery and a charging station instead of relying on the school generators at the request of Professor Callaghan. The power had been shut off three times previously, and the others were not taking any chances with the deadline so close.
He took this time to work on the coding, but there was only so much one could do with code before needing to test it to check that it didn't change his creation into some machine of death. His mentor had assured him that the battery and charging station, in addition to the alterations he had made previously, would be adequate for the update due as the midterm. Having done all that he could without actually testing Baymax, Tadashi considered just going home for the day, so long as his friends didn't need any assistance with their own projects.
Leaving his personal lab, Tadashi made his way over to the closest lab station that belonged to one of his friends.
"Tadashi!" Honey Lemon looked up from what was lovingly dubbed her 'alchemy station' with a wide grin, not even paying attention as she reached for another chemical to add to her current concoction. "If you'll just hold on just one second."
The speed and seeming disregard with which she mixed things made Tadashi nervous for her safety (and everyone else's.) He had to repeatedly remind himself that she knew what she was doing; she could do this blindfolded. Leaning against the dividing wall, Tadashi watched as Honey Lemon completed the mixture and attached a spray nozzle to it.
"So, what's this one?" Tadashi was aware that Honey Lemon's midterm worked a little differently from everyone else's due to majoring in chemical engineering, rather than robotics or physics. She had the standard papers and tests, with minimal requirements for lab work.
"It's a portable ice rink!" Honey Lemon took out a metal sheet and set it on the table before spraying it liberally with the concoction. A firm coating of an ice-like material stuck to it, and didn't fall off even when Honey Lemon turned the sheet this way and that and upside-down. "It isn't reliant on the temperature of the room, but it gives the frictionless feel of a sheet of ice."
"Not bad." Tadashi reached towards the metal sheet, glancing up for permission before placing his fingers on the smooth surface. It didn't feel cold, which made sense, as it wasn't drawing heat from the surroundings. "How do you get it off?"
Honey Lemon laughed lightly, gesturing towards a couple of previously unnoticed panels with a similar coating, with patches missing and a couple of scorch marks here and there.
"I'm still working on that. The downside of non-melting ice, is... well, it doesn't melt, even if superheated."
Tadashi looked slightly concerned, but pushed it aside with a smile.
"Well, I was just heading out. There isn't much more I can do today, so if you don't need me for anything, I'll go check on the others."
"Oh! Wait!" Honey Lemon rushed to her bag and pulled out a small box, presenting it to Tadashi. "I was able to give everyone else their presents, but you were already holed up in your lab when I got here."
"Present?" Tadashi accepted the package, looking at the packaging briefly before he realized... "It's Valentine's Day."
Pressing his free hand against his forehead, pushing back his hat slightly, he looked at Honey Lemon apologetically. "I completely forgot. I'll... I'll make something at the café and bring it by later for everyone."
Honey Lemon just laughed it off. "It's fine, Tadashi. I know how busy things are around here."
She pulled him into a brief hug before pulling back and gesturing at the present. "Open it! I want to see your reaction. Wait!" She pulled her camera from her bag. "Okay, now open it."
Tadashi pulled the top from the box with no small amount of apprehension, before smiling softly. Inside was a small white teddy bear that easily fit into the palm of his hand. There was no clichéd heart in its little arms, leaving them open as if for a hug.
Honey Lemon snapped a quick picture of him holding the small bear, before receiving another hug.
"Thanks, Honey Lemon."
He lingered for a bit as Honey showed him the pictures of his other friends receiving their gifts. Fred posing with his little stuffed lizard drew chuckles, as did Gogo's unimpressed, but clearly pleased, picture with a small black cat held in her hands- 'It was the closest I could find to a cheetah.' It took a moment for the laughter to die down when they came across the picture of Wasabi holding what had to be the most perfectly proportioned stuffed cube in existence with a deadpan look on his face.
Moving on to the next lab after a quick goodbye, Tadashi peeked in just in time to see Wasabi furiously muttering over his workbench, painstakingly trying to rearrange each of the tools.
"Need a hand?" Tadashi approached, but didn't touch anything until he received a nod of affirmation from Wasabi. There were times that even a helping hand would be an aggravation, and he wanted to check before he messed with anything.
"How's Baymax coming along?" Wasabi righted his, thankfully empty, coffee cup and began to place the wrenches in order.
Tadashi sighed. "The information's there, he just doesn't know how to use it. I can't even get him to scan someone properly, let alone anything more complicated." Nudging the clamps so that they fit perfectly along the white outline, Tadashi bit his lip to avoid thinking about his most recent failure.
"'More complicated' he says. You do realize what you've already accomplished is amazing, right?" Wasabi stared at Tadashi, slightly upset when Tadashi looked to the side instead of maintaining eye contact. "I'm serious. Your inflation design and technique for Baymax is already better than the airbags in cars, and the information for the thousands of medical procedures compiled in one place is a marvel in and of itself."
Tadashi smiled softly, pulling at the brim of his hat as he responded. "I-it just has to be perfect. It's going to help so many people... I just have to get it to work."
Tadashi looked over at Wasabi's desk, noticing the stuffed cube already sitting in its newly assigned space. "So, did you fix the issue with your project?"
Wasabi laughed, shaking his head, but accepting the change of subject. "No. The lasers cut roughly how they are supposed to, but not quickly enough to avoid burning or scorching what I toss through."
Wasabi indicated towards the fire extinguisher on an opposite table, and Tadashi had thought he had smelled smoke upon entering the room. Tadashi laughed as a thought occurred to him.
"So, if you wanted to, you could make toast with this?"
Wasabi laughed as well. "Only if you like the taste of ashes."
"Hm, better not, then." Stretching slightly, Tadashi turned to the now perfect tool table, though a single wrench was missing. "Let me guess: Gogo?"
Wasabi scrunched up his face before sighing. "Yeah, I don't get her. I got her a set of wrenches just last week. Sometimes I think she does it just to see my reaction."
"Well, she's too short to pull your pigtails- I mean, dreads." Tadashi hid a grin behind his hand. Sometimes Wasabi could be completely clueless.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, nothing. Anyway, if there's nothing else you need, I'll be headed home. I've done all I can with Baymax for today."
"Whatever you say, man. I'll see you later." Tadashi departed with a friendly wave, and turned around just in time to see a wrench go flying by his face.
"Stupid piece of garbage, just do what you're supposed to!"
Tadashi heard a crash behind him accompanied by a shriek of disbelief, and he was torn between going to check on it, and making sure Gogo wasn't about to throw something more deadly. Gogo stormed past him to retrieve the wrench she had thrown. Clearly she didn't have another to work with.
Tadashi trailed after her, seeing the damage she had caused in her anger. The machine she had hit didn't seem to be in too bad of a shape, as it was only knocked a bit out of order, but he was well aware of the precision that was required for things to function correctly. The owner of the machine looked like she was close to tears.
Tadashi attempted to do some damage control while Gogo collected her wrench and stormed back to her workstation. Placing a hand on the other student's shoulder, he started to try and undo the damage Gogo had done.
"Hey, I'm really sorry for what my friend did, I'm sure she'll apologize once she's calmed down." He'd make sure she did. "Is there anything I can do to help fix it?"
"I-I just have been w-working on this for so long, and I needed to test it before Monday, and now I'll have to recalibrate everything."
"It'll be okay." Tadashi gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm good with my hands, just tell me what to do."
The girl flushed slightly, thanking him, and they both made short work of readjusting the machine. The job was made a lot easier with another person helping.
"T-thank you, again." The girl ducked her head, glad that someone had bothered to help her in the rush before midterms instead of just ignoring her plight.
"No problem." Tadashi smiled before making his way back to Gogo's workspace.
"You need to go apologize to her." Tadashi crossed his arms, watching as Gogo fiddled with the 3D printer to create another wheel prototype.
"I was planning on it, lab mom. I was just going to wait until I'd calmed down. No sense scaring the poor thing." As Gogo went to do just that, Tadashi approached the hanging bike frame, examining it closely.
There are no brakes on this thing...
When Gogo returned, Tadashi pointed this out to her, receiving a shrug in reply.
"I might put some on the finished thing, but right now I'm just streamlining it."
"Please tell me you haven't ridden it."
Gogo popped her bubblegum, sending a look to Tadashi that clearly indicated that she had done exactly that.
Tadashi ran a hand over his face. "Unbelievable."
"Tadashi!" Tadashi felt something collide with his back, before he was enveloped in a hug.
"Hello, Fred." Tadashi laughed, stepping away slightly while Fred removed his backpack and dug through it.
"Everyone needs candy, so I went out and got some. I'm glad I caught you before you left, did you get your present from Honey Lemon?" Fred passed some chocolate over to Tadashi before handing some to Gogo as well.
"Yeah." Tadashi put away the candy, determined to share it with Hiro later, and pulled out the small white bear.
"Oh, it reminds me of Baymax!" Fred pulled his own lizard out of his pocket. "Meet Mr. Godzilla McKraken the fourth!"
"The fourth?" Tadashi raised an eyebrow at Fred.
"Well, he comes from a long line of distinguished lizards, though he is not above socializing with the common folk."
At this, Fred made one of the lizard's front paws wave at the little bear, and Tadashi made his little creature return the gesture with a laugh. Gogo just sighed and rolled her eyes at the adult sized five-year-olds.
"Where's your cat, Gogo?" Fred looked around her station, as if expecting it to jump out at the mention.
Gogo pointed to a shelf above the printing machine, where, sure enough, the cat was perched, looking down at the group. "She's up there, and she's judging you two as well."
"Hello, your highness!" Fred waved the lizard at the cat, before turning to Gogo. "How did you get it up there?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's just that I don't see anything you could climb on, and-" Fred hid himself behind Tadashi when Gogo approached him mock threateningly. Or she could be serious. It was difficult to tell, sometimes.
"E-easy, Gogo." Tadashi held up his hands in a placating manner, and she backed down, allowing Fred to come out of hiding, only to punch him in the arm when he did so.
"Hey..." Fred pouted, leaning against Tadashi. "She's so mean to me."
Tadashi laughed before playfully pushing Fred back. "I'd say you earned that one."
"So mean. Both of you." Fred sighed dramatically. "Maybe Honey Lemon will be nice to me." At this, Fred went bounding off to her lab, leaving his two friends smiling his wake.
"So, what are you doing out of your lab, anyway, Tadashi? I thought you of all people would be locked up until midterms are due." Gogo began to adjust the gears on the bike as she spoke.
Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck. "I've done all I can do, for now, since I've been banned from testing until after the craziness has died down. I was actually planning on seeing if you needed any help before I left."
"Could you grab the wheel from the printer and connect it to the machine over there so I can make adjustments?"
"Sure thing." Tadashi lifted the unfinished wheel from the printer, and carried it over to the other machine. Reaching over the equipment, he tried to hook the wheel to the small stand, but accidently activated the mechanism that turned it in place. "Woah!"
Jerking back, Tadashi heard the sound of tearing fabric, but was more concerned with checking that he hadn't been cut anywhere. His hands were still in one piece, and he didn't see any blood, but his shirt hadn't been so lucky.
"Gogo! You're supposed to turn this off in between uses!"
"What are you whining about no-" Gogo broke off and started laughing at the sight before her.
Tadashi was holding the two pieces of the front of his shirt, looking like he was trying to think of a way to fix it. It was hopeless. The machine had caught and cut through the front, tearing from just under where the sleeve met the shirt clean across his torso to the bottom.
"And who's the one always harping about 'lab safety,' and double checking equipment before you use it?"
"Very funny." Tadashi let the end of the shirt fall, and the torn bit hung open like a curtain. There's no way he could go anywhere, now. "You do realize I rode the bus here today, and that I'll have to ride it again on the way home?"
"Maybe you'll get a free pass," Gogo teased.
"Gogo!"
Wasabi poked his head out of his lab, before rolling his eyes at the scene and retreating back to his work.
"What's going on?" Honey Lemon and Fred had been summoned by Gogo's loud laughter.
"Tadashi tore his shirt open on a machine, and now he's worried about getting arrested for public indecency."
"...you don't happen to have a jacket I could borrow?" Tadashi crossed his arms in front of himself, mentally berating himself for not having brought a cardigan that day, though it probably would have been torn, too, and that would have been a tragedy.
Honey Lemon giggled slightly, checking inside her bag. "Nope. I'm sorry, I think the only one who has a jacket right now is Gogo."
Gogo shrugged off her full-sized jacket, one of the few that actually reached her waist, and handed it over to Tadashi. "Just try not to pop the seams, 'shoulders'."
Tadashi tried, he really did, but it didn't fit right. He heard a camera shutter just as he tried to remove it. "Honey Lemon!"
She giggled, not even pretending to be ashamed. "I'm just saving the memory!"
Wasabi reappeared, curiosity having won him over.
"Okay, what are you hooligans doing out here?"
Tadashi handed the coat back to Gogo, still not any better off. "I tore my shirt, and now I don't have anything to wear, since Gogo's jacket doesn't work."
"Just a sec." Wasabi ducked back into his lab, before reemerging with the green sweater he had been wearing over his white long sleeved shirt in his hands. "Here, and now none of you can say anything about me wearing too many layers."
Tadashi gladly accepted the oversized (for him, anyway) sweater, removing his hat so that he could pull it over his head. It hung loosely on him, but it did the job. "Thanks, Wasabi."
Honey Lemon snapped another picture, vowing to put it into her scrapbook along with the others... for memory's sake.