I'm finally on spring break! (Or, in my case, winter break part 2) Know what that means? It means I finally get to update this story! Believe it or not, I've been working on it off and on since the last update, but I got slammed with work right before break. But that's college for ya. It's basically a huge mix of insane amounts of work and periods of almost no work at all.
In any case, I'm so glad I finally get to update this. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.
An entire week had passed since Maiye and Hiro hugged. Outwardly, nothing appeared any different. They still worked on their project, shared conversation, and every so often, Maiye would eat lunch with Hiro and his friends. On the inside though, there was a change for both of them.
If Hiro thought he had it bad for Maiye before, he had fallen even harder now. After being in her arms for those few brief moments, there was no place he was more keen to get back to. When he was with Maiye, it was almost like nothing bad could ever happen to him.
Almost.
Little did he know, he was having a very similar effect on her as well. Ever since she hugged him, Maiye's head was filled with nothing but thoughts of Hiro. She wanted to get some homework done? Too bad, Hiro had taken the seat opposite her in the library to sketch in his journal and decided to look especially nice today. Maiye sighed. Unless it was computer code, writing had never been her forte anyways.
Meanwhile, the others had noticed the subtle change in the way Maiye and Hiro interacted with each other, and had varying opinions on what to do about it. Gogo's solution was to get on Hiro's case about it every chance she got ("She won't know if you don't tell her!"), while Honey thought it best to let him work at his own pace ("Take your time, Hiro, these things can't be rushed.").
Both Wasabi and Fred kept trying to give him unsolicited romantic advice, "man to man", but had very differing opinions about it. ("No no no, Hiro, there is a time and a place to do the yawn and stretch, and dinner is not one of them!" "What, are you kidding? Dinner is the perfect time to do the yawn and stretch! Sets you up for the rest of the evening, eh?"). Every single one of these conversations left Hiro red-faced, embarrassed out of his mind, and throwing himself into his work every chance he got.
This was the way things continued. And if not for a completely random incident on a normal Wednesday morning, it might have continued a lot longer.
It all began when Maiye walked to her lab desk before her first class, yawning all the way. Even though she considered herself a morning person, she hadn't slept well last night. Her mind kept running with thought after thought after thought, and she couldn't make it stop. She was embarrassed to admit that about 80% of those thoughts were attributed to her completely adorable, completely infuriating lab partner (whom she had also been texting for a good part of the night, but that, of course, was irrelevant).
At least she had Friday to look forward to. That was when she was going to the annual San Fransokyo Technology Expo with one of her professors. The lady was given an extra ticket to the event, and thought that since Maiye had never been to one before, she might like to go. Well, taking Maiye to an event like this was the equivalent to taking a small child to a toy store, so of course the answer had been a resounding YES!
Walking up to her desk, Maiye set down her thermos filled with green tea (which she had developed a taste for since moving to the west coast) and was just about to pull out her laptop when she noticed a small envelope tucked into one of the shelves and bearing her name. Ripping it open, Maiye was surprised to find the two tickets to the convention, along with a handwritten note.
Dear Maiye,
I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to the expo this Friday. My daughter called this morning to tell me that she finally went into labor, so after I finish this note, I'll be hopping on a train and heading down south to see my new grandchild. I'm not sure if I'll be back in time for the convention, so I'm giving my ticket to you. Hopefully you can find someone to go with and have an absolute blast, I hear Alistair Krei is supposed to be one of the keynote speakers!
Again, I'm so sorry to leave you hanging like this, but grandma duties beckon. Have fun with whomever you go with, and tell me all about it on Monday :)
-Professor Collins
Oh.
Well, that certainly changed a few things.
Of course, Maiye was happy for her professor. At least once a week, the woman would mention her daughter and how much she missed seeing her all the time. And considering Maiye only had that particular class one day a week, she mentioned it quite often.
However, this left Maiye with quite the predicament. The expo was this Friday, and it was already Wednesday morning. Who would be able to go on such short notice? Asking her family was out. Fridays were when her father worked the late shift at the police department, and her stepmom, nice as she was, probably wouldn't enjoy a technology expo the way Maiye would. And her younger sister was only two years old – the expo started right at bedtime!
Just as Maiye was resigning herself to selling the ticket online and saving the money, someone instantly popped into her head. Someone who loved technology in any way, shape, or form. Someone who would probably kill to go to an expo like this. Someone who wanted to use technology to help the world and its people in any way possible.
Someone who just happened to be her lab partner this semester.
As he walked towards his next class, Hiro's mind was already running in a thousand different directions at once. And about nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine of those directions led straight to his absolutely wonderful, absolutely infuriating lab partner.
"Hey Maiye, did you want to hang out sometime?"
No no no, too vague.
"Hey Maiye, do you like movies?"
Stupid question, who didn't?
"Hey Maiye, I really like you as more than just a friend, would you happen to feel the same way about me?"
…
Definitely not.
Hiro sighed heavily. That was it, then. He would never ever have the courage to tell Maiye how he really felt, and thus, the two of them would forever be trapped in this horrible cycle of "will we, won't we, can we, should we?"
And then, when she would undoubtedly get sick of such a long and painful cycle, some dashing guy with rugged good looks, much taller than Hiro was ever going to be in this lifetime, would stroll right in and sweep her off her feet. Considering he probably worked out every day and was naturally muscular, he would no doubt be capable of carrying the tall, sophisticated beauty that was Maiye Barton.
The two of them would probably wind up married (because honestly, when up against something like that, why would she want to choose Hiro?), and give birth to adorable, genetically perfect children who would probably all wind up doing something amazing with their lives. Like invent the first time machine, or the first teleportation machine, if their equally amazing mother had not already done so by then.
Hiro, meanwhile, would surely grow old and decrepit and lonely, with only his robots and maybe the occasional cat to soothe his shattered soul.
However, when he shared this information with his friends, they didn't seem to feel the same way.
"Hiro, I'm saying this in the nicest way possible," Wasabi told the teenager before open lab started. "You're losing it."
"This is one of those things you can't rush." said Fred, whom had stopped in to say hello before attending a basketball game for his mascot job. "Just relax, and let things happen the way they're supposed to."
"But what if they never do?" asked Hiro. "What if we just get stuck like this forever because neither of us actually says anything?"
As he talked, he made the mistake of glancing over to Maiye's desk, and his heart immediately sank when he saw her talking to some tall guy with nice hair, holding a small stack of papers in his hands.
Hiro pointed the scene out to the others. "See?" he asked miserably. "It's already happening!" He was already mentally preparing himself for the inevitable day when they would walk into open lab, holding hands and smiling lovingly at each other.
"Hiro," Gogo stared blankly at him. "That's the teaching assistant."
"…Oh."
"Oh my god," Gogo placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him. "You need to calm down. You'll make yourself sick."
"Too late for that." Hiro whined, clutching his stomach. He was already feeling pretty jittery before, but Gogo shaking him had made it even worse.
"Here's my advice," Honey cut in. "Don't think about it. Just focus on your work. You don't have to ignore her, just stop freaking out so much." She smiled sweetly at him. "You'll be fine."
Hiro smiled back at Honey, but it was weak. He hoped that with everything that was going on, he would somehow be able to take her advice to heart.
At this point, the professor gave the class permission to start working on their projects, whether individually or in groups. Going over to his work station, Hiro decided to take his mind off of everything by listening to a mixtape that Fred gave him for his 15th birthday. Putting on his headphones, he opened up his latest project and began to work. He considered himself very lucky that none of the songs on the tape were related to love, longing, or romance in any way. After working steadily for about thirty minutes, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder which caused him to jump.
Turning around, he saw none other than Maiye standing there, laughing. "I'm sorry!" she said. "I wasn't trying to startle you."
"You didn't startle me." Hiro lied, shaking his head.
"You sure?" Maiye raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna fall out of your seat."
"Nah," Hiro brushed it off, hoping beyond hoping that his face wasn't anywhere near as red as it felt. "So what's up?"
"I got a present for you." Maiye dropped a small stack of papers onto his desk. "Happy birthday!"
"Aww, you shouldn't have." Hiro placed a hand over his heart in mock-heartfeltness. "Sadly though, you're too late. My birthday was in July."
"Well, technically I didn't," responded Maiye. "I asked the TA to print it for me since they don't get charged each time."*
"Ah." Hiro nodded. So that was what they were discussing earlier.
"Plus," she finished. "I didn't know you when you were having your birthday, so I technically can't be held accountable for tardiness."
"Or maybe you can." Hiro smiled teasingly at her. "I could do that, you know."
"In which case," Maiye crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "I would have to hold you accountable for missing my birthday."
"And just when was your birthday?"
"September 1st." replied Maiye. "The day before classes started."
"I'll remember that then." The stress ball that had wound itself up in Hiro's stomach earlier had slowly begun to unwind when he smiled and met Maiye's gaze.
She looked nice today. Not that she didn't always look nice when she showed up to class, but right now, it was just more noticeable. She had on a gray, short-sleeved v-neck, a pair of jeans, and dark brown boots with rose-colored socks peeking up over the top. A pair of dog tags hung around her neck that Hiro often saw her play with during bouts of silence.
Does she always wake up looking like this or does she plan for it? Either way, the longer Hiro held her gaze, the more he could feel the butterflies returning to his stomach and making a permanent home there.
The two of them didn't interact again until the end of class. While everyone was packing up their things to go home, their professor met them at Maiye's desk to discuss their progress on their project – and was very impressed.
"I should pair you two together more often." He winked at the pair and chuckled. "Keep up the good work."
As the professor left to gather his things, Hiro turned towards Maiye.
"I'm glad he liked it." He said.
"Me too." responded Maiye. "I was starting to get nervous."
"Same." Hiro laughed lightly, but didn't mention how his nervousness was for an entirely different reason. A moment later, he spoke again.
"I should get going, my aunt is expecting me home for dinner." He smiled at Maiye as he turned to go. "See you tomorrow."
"Hang on a second!"
Hiro spun around to see Maiye stand from her seat. "Yes?"
"Um…" Maiye shifted in place and took hold of the dog tags around her neck, as if she were nervous about something. "Are you doing anything this Friday?" she blurted out.
"No," Hiro responded, his heart suddenly racing inside his chest. "Why?"
"Well," Maiye leaned against the side of her desk as she spoke, never letting go of the tags. "You… You've heard of the San Fransokyo Technology Expo, right? Actually… that's a dumb question. You've lived here longer, so you probably have."
"Eh," Hiro grinned slightly and decided to make a joke. "Doesn't ring a bell."
Maiye laughed at that, looking slightly less anxious than before. "Anyways," she continued. "I was supposed to go this Friday with my professor, but something came up and she had to back out. I still have the extra ticket though, so I was wondering if maybe… you'd like to go with me?"
Was this really happening? Hiro wasn't dreaming? Maiye was really standing in front of him, with an extra ticket to one of the best technology conventions in existence… and she wanted to go with him? For a moment, he was so stunned that he didn't even speak.
Maiye apparently took his silence for hesitation and started talking again. "You don't have to if you don't want to." she said quickly. "I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. I was just thinking that you might enjoy it since you're really into that sort of stuff, and you might like it a lot better than, say, my stepmom or something, and I think there's supposed to be food too, since it's an expo, and you don't actually have to pay for your ticket-"
"Woah, hang on!" Hiro broke into a huge grin as he cut Maiye off. "You're not forcing me into anything. I'd love to go with you."
Wait, was that a yes?
Maiye stopped rambling for a moment and turned to look back at Hiro.
"You… You would?"
"Yeah!" Hiro smiled. "It sounds really cool!"
And you'll be there too.
"Great then!" Maiye smiled back in relief. "It starts at 7, so if you want, I could swing by and get you around 6."
"That sounds great!"
"Awesome! So," Maiye began to gather her things. "I'll see you then?"
"Yes you will!" Hiro could barely contain his excitement as Maiye began to leave the lab. "Bye!"
Once he was certain that she was gone, Hiro promptly fist-pumped the air and let out a loud and utterly joyful,
"YES!"
Out of anybody in the world that Maiye could have asked to go with her to the expo on Friday, she had asked him! First she had hugged him, and now she wanted to go someplace alone with him? And not just someplace, but one of the best conventions for new technology in the existence of existence? Maybe she really did like him back after all!
Hiro was so happy that a part of him wondered if he had died and gone to heaven, because that was certainly the way he was feeling right now. After he packed up his things, he practically skipped out of the lab to go and meet his friends. On a wonderful occasion such as this, he couldn't wait to tell them the good news.
At last, the moment you've all been waiting for! (From what I understand at least) They finally got a date! Yay! *throws confetti* Actually, I think this is my longest chapter yet. On the word document, it was a little over 7 pages! Not sure how long the next one is going to be though.
Thank you for all your kind reviews and comments, it means a lot to know that you're enjoying this story so much :)
-Liz
*A quick note: At my college, using the printers costs about seven cents each time, and students get a certain amount of money for the semester. I haven't reached my limit as of yet, but I figured it might be the same kind of deal at SFIT, so that's why Maiye asked the TA to print it for her instead. With so many pages, she'd probably run out in no time lol.
