Hiro Hamada couldn't help but smile. He tried so hard not to chuckle as he looked at the colorful lights in front of him. It was hard not to feel giddy like a little kid. After all, this event only came once a year. He was going to make the most of it if it killed him. Okay, maybe he wouldn't go quite that far. Baymax would have a hissy fit. If a robot could have a hissy fit that was.
"This is going to be so awesome!" he declared as he spun around on the spot. His excitement was infectious, though it didn't seem to impress Mochi the house cat. Mochi merely looked up at the spinning youth, yawned hugely, and settled back down for a nap.
Aunt Cass breezed into the room, a tray of sweets in her arms. "This is going to be so much fun!" she exclaimed as she set the tray of baked goods down on the kitchen counter. She'd just brought them up from the café. She could have baked them in the living part of the house but had chosen to leave the kitchen area to Hiro and Baymax, as her nephew had said he wanted to work on a special project there.
When Aunt Cass saw Hiro's creations, she couldn't help but smile. "They look so good!" She turned to glance over at the healthcare bot. "He didn't burn anything down or hurt himself making those things, did he?"
Baymax blinked slowly at her question before lifting one hand into the air, a finger pointing upward. "I made sure Hiro did not harm himself in the making of these items," he announced. "Though their nutritional content is questionable, they should not harm anyone should they eat them."
Cass couldn't help but laugh at that as she moved over to her nephew and pinched his cheek gently. "Oh, this is so exciting! When are the others supposed to get here?"
Hiro rubbed at his cheek good-naturedly. It had been some time since he'd last felt like celebrating anything. Not since Tadashi's death. But now that his brother had been avenged, more or less, and justice had been served, he felt they had all earned a good holiday celebration. It had just had to wait until the right time. But now, everything was perfect. He hoped.
The doorbell rang from the back porch. Cass had already closed down the café for the night. Most of the customers had understood. It was Christmas Eve, after all. There were a few who had to be persuaded to leave, but they'd finally all gone.
Hearing the sound of the chimes, Hiro felt his pulse suddenly race, his eyes glittering with excitement. "Okay, gotta calm down," he told himself, a grin spreading across his face once more. "Just act natural."
Aunt Cass rolled her eyes. "Just go answer the door!" she urged as the chime sounded again.
Looking a bit apologetic, Hiro raced for the stairs, taking them down two at a time as he raced for the doorknob. He gave an almost nervous laugh as he stood, hands behind his back, rocking back and forth slightly as his friends stood in the now open doorway. "Uh, hi, guys. Come on in."
Honey Lemon smiled as she pushed up her glasses with one hand. In the other, she carried a large bag. Hiro could see a few hints of wrapping paper showing from the top.
Behind the tall Latino came GoGo. She popped a pink gum bubble as she stepped over the threshold. If she brought anything, it wasn't evident. Maybe she'd brought something small in her pocket? Either way, it didn't matter.
Next came Fred. He looked as laid back and chill as ever as he gave Hiro a fist bump upon entering the converted house. "Hey, little man! Merry Christmas!"
And behind them all came Wasabi, who was carrying a rather large pile of boxes in his arms. It was so high, in fact that he couldn't see over it. "Uh, a little help here? Please? You know I didn't bring all of these!"
Hiro sidestepped to let Wasabi enter but accidentally knocked into him instead, sending boxes flying. Both super heroes ended up falling onto their rear ends, packages tumbled all around them.
GoGo turned from halfway up the stairs, looking down at the mess. Fred was only a few steps behind her. Her eyes went wide for a moment, then she bent over, busting out in laughter. "Oh my gosh, you guys! You should see your faces!"
A flash of light announced Honey Lemon's camera phone going off as she snapped a picture, immortalizing the moment. She stifled a smile behind the raised phone as she snapped one more picture, for posterity.
Baymax loomed at the top of the stairs, looking down at the mass of fallen gifts and boys. "I heard a sound of distress," he confessed. "Is everyone all right?"
GoGo couldn't make herself stop laughing as Fred slipped on his way down the stairs to help his buds. He landed on his rump as well, looking more than a little surprised, though he made the best of it and pretended to make snow angels on the carpet.
Hiro got up with a bit of an effort. He rubbed at his bruised backside as Wasabi also returned to his feet. "S-sorry about that," he apologized to the taller man.
Wasabi rolled his eyes at Fred's antics as he stooped to retrieve the various boxes. "No worries," he said. "Fred, why don't you try helping instead of making a bigger mess?"
Fred grinned from his position on the floor before fluidly bouncing back to his feet like a worm. "No problemo," he said as he began stacking boxes back into Wasabi's arms.
"Uh, Fred," Wasabi hedged, "that's not exactly what I had in mind."
Hiro shook his head but took some of the boxes so that Wasabi could at least see over them. "Come on, guys," he admonished. "Just wait until you see what Baymax and I did with the house!"
Seeing that everyone was alright, Baymax waddled away from the stairs so that everyone could come up. "I did not detect any injuries," he informed Aunt Cass, who looked a bit surprised.
Finally, everyone made it back upstairs, Wasabi and Hiro setting the gifts down near the floor to ceiling tall tree. "Very nice," Wasabi commented as he looked around the room.
The tree was brightly lit with assorted colored lights. Strings of lights also hung from every wall, along with brightly colored streamers and paper snowflakes.
"You did good," GoGo praised, giving Hiro a playful punch to the shoulder.
Hiro couldn't help but smile at her praise. "Thanks," he said modestly, his cheeks blushing slightly. But he quickly got over it as he remembered his secret project. "But just wait until you see what Baymax and I made for everyone!"
Without waiting for a response, Hiro dashed into the kitchen and headed for the counter. He picked up the decorated plate with his evening's efforts on top and turned to present them to the room. "Check it out!"
Honey moved closer, pulling her phone out again to take pictures of the miniature versions of each of them, made from rice crispies and marshmallow goo. There was even one of Baymax, though no one expected the robot to eat that. And though they were decidedly not in proportion, minus the one of Baymax, they were still pretty good for someone who spent most of his time putting gears and such together instead of sculpting art.
"Those look so awesome!" Fred said as he came over to look at the creations. "I can tell you put a lot of work into them."
Aunt Cass gave Hiro a proud smile as his friends crowded around to claim their rice crispy miniature. "I knew they'd like them," she whispered as she moved to grab the tray of goodies she'd brought up from the café. "Okay, who's up for hot cocoa?"
Christmas carols filled the air from Aunt Cass's stereo as the lights illuminated the room. They'd turned off the overhead lights to get the full effect. Empty mugs lined the kitchen counter, along with half-empty plates of food.
The group sat on the floor near the Christmas tree. Well, Baymax didn't exactly sit. He stood near the tree, making sure no one got hurt as they took turns opening presents. And since a knife was in evidence, since some of the gifts were better wrapped than others, he felt a need to keep an eye on them in case of injury.
"Oh! You guys! You shouldn't have!" Aunt Cass exclaimed as she held up the cat-shaped soup mug Honey Lemon had brought for the proprietress. "I love it!"
Hiro couldn't help but watch as everyone opened their presents. It was truly magical. The occasional flash of the camera only added to the fun as Honey Lemon documented it all. There was only one thing missing. Well, one person, actually. Tadashi.
Out of nowhere, Fred settled down next to Hiro, placing one arm around his shoulders. "Hey, little man, everything okay? You look kinda, I don't know, spaced out or something."
Hoping to not give away his emotional state any more than necessary, Hiro gave a rather watery smile as he looked up at all the faces around him. "I'm okay," he assured. He had to blink rapidly a few times as he got his emotions under control. "I was just thinking about some things."
Baymax tilted his head as he contemplated his number one patient. He was about to figuratively open his mouth when GoGo saved Hiro from the embarrassment of having his emotional forecast spread to the whole of those assembled. "Hey, you haven't opened my present yet," she admonished.
Hiro couldn't help but look a bit surprised by that announcement, realizing it was true. While the others had unwrapped their own presents, a small pile had grown next to him. "Oh, right." He hastily covered a sniffle by bending down to retrieve the gift addressed to him from GoGo. "This one, right?"
When GoGo gave an affirmative nod, the young hero couldn't help but smile. Her usual disinterested look was replaced by a slightly impatient one. Hiro couldn't help but toy with her a little though. Taking his dear, sweet time, he carefully slit the tape on the small box, folding back the paper as if to preserve it forever. The slight growl coming from the giver was more than ample reward for his teasing and he couldn't help but grin.
A few more folds of paper and the box was exposed. Unfortunately, it was just an ordinary box, with no markings to indicate what was inside. Hiro nodded in appreciation. "Not making it easy on me, are you," he stated with a chuckle. With a few more quick movements of his nimble fingers, the box was open and Hiro's eyes widened. "Oh, wow. These things are tiny!"
He held up the transparent case filled with miniature screwdrivers. Some of the ends were so small he almost had to squint to see it. "Where did you get these?" he asked in excitement.
GoGo only tisked at him. "Like I'll ever tell," she admonished once more. But Hiro could see a glint of a smile in her eyes, which quickly turned to surprise when he ambushed her with a hug. "What the…?"
"Thank you," Hiro said sincerely as he let her go. "I mean it."
Looking only a little flustered, GoGo hid behind a gum bubble. "No problem," she said as soon as the pink orb had burst.
Fred started to bounce up and down. "Ooh! Open mine next!"
Hiro couldn't help but laugh at the otaku's antics. He'd gotten his friend a random set of comic books. He'd hoped they were ones the mascot didn't have. At least Fred had seemed pleased by them. He turned to look for the package in question, instantly spotting it for the rather outlandish wrapping paper. After all, not everyone used slime green paper with random comic book characters on it.
Deciding to stave off further irritation from impatient friends, Hiro chose to rip the paper, only to reveal a pair of super hero pajamas in Hiro's size. He stared at them with blinking eyes, not sure he could trust his eyes.
"I totally had a hard time decided between these and the Captain America underwear," Fred declared.
Hiro suddenly felt very glad Fred hadn't gone with the underwear. He gave his friend a sideways hug. "Thanks." He couldn't help but chuckle a little, though part of him wondered if he'd ever actually wear them.
Fred leaned closer to whisper into Hiro's ear. "Your real gift is in the garage. I didn't think your aunt would appreciate it."
That brought up an eyebrow as Hiro contemplated just what is friend meant, but he brushed it aside as he opened Wasabi's gift, which was something just as practical as pajamas. The physicist had gotten everyone different themed sets of chopsticks with matching rice bowls.
Then came Honey Lemon's gift, which turned out to be three new t-shirts with robot motifs on them. She'd designed them herself. Hiro had gotten her a scrapbook for all of her photos.
GoGo settled around her pile of opened presents. Of all the gifts given her, she rather thought Hiro's the most practical. He'd gotten her a new set of wrenches. Fred had given her a set of bike shorts with a matching t-shirt. Honey Lemon gave her new athletic shoes.
Wasabi smiled over his presents. Hiro had gotten him a Magic 8 Ball, for kicks. Honey had given him a new sweater that she'd designed. GoGo gave him a jar of wasabi paste and a chef's apron. And Fred had given him an action movie.
Honey Lemon felt happy with her stash. Along with the chopstick/bowl set, she'd gotten some new equipment for her chemistry set, the scrap book, and new recipe book to try out. And fifty million new photos to sort through when she had the chance.
Aunt Cass was happy with the soup mug, a few new kitchen gadgets, and a festive apron and chef's hat. Since she hadn't exactly expected anything, she felt more than a little touched by her nephew's friends' generosity. She'd made everyone their favorite dessert item to take home for later.
After all the eggnog was gone, along with all the cookie crumbs, everyone decided it was getting late. At almost midnight, they'd had more than enough time together. That and they were all starting to look rather worn down.
Hiro waved from the door as his friends piled into Wasabi's minivan and drove off. Part of him wanted to rush to the garage to see what Fred had left there but he refrained. Aunt Cass was standing next to him, waiting for him to come back up.
"Well, I think everyone had fun," Cass said as they rinsed off the dishes. She'd wait to wash them until later, but there was no way she'd leave them unrinsed overnight.
Hiro nodded as the water ran over the last dish. "Yeah. I think so too. I just kinda wish…" he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. "I kinda wish Tadashi could have been here too."
Aunt Cass turned and gave him a hug. "I know, sweetie. I know. But I'm sure that wherever he is, he's smiling." She pulled away, her lips turned upwards, though a few tears glistened in her eyes. "Now off to bed with you," she admonished. "Santa doesn't come to those who don't get some sleep!"
Hiro rolled his eyes. He felt tempted to mention that he hadn't believed in Santa since he was eight but chose not to ruin it. Besides, he had one last stop before going to bed. "Sure," he said instead. "I just need to make sure I turned off the computer in the garage first."
Aunt Cass shook her head knowingly. "Alright, but don't stay up too late." She shook her head as she smiled. Chances were good he'd get caught up in some project and just end up sleeping down there.
Hiro carefully made his way down to his makeshift lab, aka the garage. He had no idea what Fred might have left for, but, knowing him, it could be anything. "Something Aunt Cass might not appreciate," he mused as he turned on the lights.
At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. Taking a second look around, Hiro noticed something thrust near the couch in the far corner. It almost looked like a random box, except that he knew it hadn't been there earlier.
Walking cautiously towards it, because this was Fred they were talking about, Hiro made his way across the room. The box wasn't wrapped in any way. But it did have a lid. Almost gingerly, he lifted it to reveal a layer of tissue paper. Pushing the wrapping aside, he almost sad down, hard.
On top of whatever else was in the box was a framed picture of the gang, except that it wasn't just any old picture. It was an enlarged copy of the picture Honey had snapped at the school showcase, complete with Tadashi's smiling face and Hiro's deer-in-headlights expression.
Eyes a bit moist, Hiro pulled the frame from the box and slowly sat down. He didn't hear Baymax enter the room as he stared at the picture, eyes watering with emotion. So many things had happened since that fateful night.
"You're going to help so many people," he heard Tadashi say in his mind. And even though his brother hadn't said that to him that night, it was one of his last memories of him, thanks to Baymax's recordings. And it was so true.
Hiro pressed his hand against the glass covering the photo. "I wish you were here, Dashi," he said, tears running down his cheeks. He sniffled as he traced the outline of Tadashi's face with one finger.
"Tadashi is here," Baymax announced gently as he waddled forward. But instead of activating his internal projector, he simply pointed at Hiro's heart. "Tadashi will always be here."
Hiro set the picture aside and moved to give his robot a hug. "Thanks, Baymax." He sniffled a bit more, trying to keep his nose from running as he realized there was something else in the box.
Not sure if he could handle any surprises at the moment, Hiro hesitated to look back into the box. But he knew no one would judge him, no matter what he saw in there. So he was incredibly surprised to find a red and gold-colored helmet with a signature scrawled across the top. A note was attached, which Hiro pulled free.
"I hope you like it," the note read in Fred's surprisingly neat script. "By the way, Tony says hi."
Not entirely sure what to make of that, Hiro pulled the helmet free from the box, his eyes going wide as he realized exactly what it was. The markings were unmistakable. And, now that he thought about it, so was the signature. Tony Stark. Fred had gotten him Iron Man's helmet for Christmas. How cool was that?