Once they reached home, it was just after noon and Tadashi realized with a slight start that his house was a complete and total mess. That often happened-when he was busy working on a project, he just kind of tended to let things go. When it came to his workspace he usually kept things pretty organized in his own sort of fashion, but as much as everyone around him assumed that he was a very neat person (and he was with places where he knew other people would see), if he was left up to his own devices he often didn't clean up until he had a good reason to do so. And having Fred coming over to meet Hiro for the first time was an extremely good reason!

"Hiro," Tadashi says as he surveys the living room and mentally starts calculating just how long this was going to take to get back in order, "I know you don't want to be left on the charger for longer than you have to be, and you don't have to go if you don't want to! But you probably used up a lot of energy last night and with going out to visit Aunt Cass this morning, plus I have a lot of work to do, so would you mind if I put you on to charge while I work on cleaning up the house?"

Hiro seems to consider this. "Do you need help cleaning?" he finally asks.

"Thank you for the offer," Tadashi tells him with a warm smile, "but I kind of have a system for cleaning here, and I'm worried you'll just be bored if you have to sit and watch me."

"Okay then!" Hiro answers, nodding in agreement. "I don't mind charging if you think it's a good idea!"

"Thank you for understanding." Tadashi gently cuddles him close before heading over to his office to put the little boy on his charger. "I promise I'll come and get you before Fred gets here, all right?"

"All right!" Hiro agrees, smiling warmly up at him before allowing his eyes to slide shut as the man hooks him up to his charger.

"Sleep well," Tadashi says softly, lovingly running a hand through the boy's hair. He knew that technically the robot wasn't really sleeping, but it just felt like the right thing to say. As he watched Hiro standing in his charger, he couldn't help but notice that it didn't look like a particularly comfortable position-he mentally makes a note to maybe look into making Hiro a small bed of some sort that he could lie down on when he charged. Honestly, now that the little robot was finally up and running, there were a lot of things that the man realized he should probably take into consideration. He hadn't thought about them before because he'd just been trying to get to this point, but considering he'd created Hiro to be a robotic version of a child, he was beginning to realize that the boy had a lot of the same needs as one. Well, maybe not "needs"-all the robot really needed to survive was a good electrical charge. But given how much Hiro was already starting to show his individuality and that he was very much a person (even if he had been built from parts instead of being born), it stood to reason that he'd probably feel a lot happier and more at home here if his more human needs and desires were fulfilled as well.

As Tadashi begins to work on straightening up the house-tossing out empty takeout containers and making sure that dirty socks actually made it into the laundry-he begins mentally making a checklist of the things Hiro might need-more clothes than just the ones he was currently wearing, probably (even if robots didn't sweat, they could still get dirty), and maybe a bed, like Tadashi had already been thinking about. Honestly, it might be fun to put together a small sort of bedroom for him-kids needed space to play and explore and grow, right? Maybe a part of the lab could be converted for that purpose, or even the unused nursery the house had that so far had only been used for storage. Cognitively Tadashi knew that he didn't need to go to all that trouble just for the robot, but the truth was he wanted to-it made him smile imagining taking Hiro shopping for new clothes and playing with him in a bedroom all his own, tucking him into bed at night and maybe even reading him bedtime stories. Yes, Hiro was a robot, and most people would tell him that he was just a machine, not a child that needed so much love and affection. And yes, technically Hiro was supposed to be looking after him, not the other way around. But that didn't matter to Tadashi. In his heart, somehow he knew that he already loved the little boy like he was his own (whether like a little brother or possibly even a son, he had yet to determine), and no one and nothing could ever change that.

It took Tadashi a few hours to thoroughly clean the house-by the time he finished, he had about two hours before Fred was supposed to arrive, which meant he had just enough time to work on dinner (tonight the plan was to just stay in the house and do a proper Netflix and chill date, which was honestly probably a good thing because if Hiro was going to be joining them the little boy had already had quite a lot of stimulation for the day and going out anywhere else might be a bit of an overload for his system.) The engineer was just about to head into the kitchen to start working on a homemade pizza when it suddenly occurred to him that Hiro was probably done charging by now and might want to be involved in this. The robot probably wouldn't be of much an actual help, but cooking was always more fun when you did it with someone else, plus, if this morning was any indication, Hiro really did like working in the kitchen. With a smile on his face, his mind made up, Tadashi heads to his lab to wake the little boy up.

"Hi," he says softly when the robot activates a few minutes later, already finding just how much his mood improved just from being with the little boy, even when he was just waking up.

"Dashi!" Hiro grins at him as his eyes blink open, raising his arms to the older man to be held.

"How did you sleep?" Tadashi asks, more than willingly scooping him up to carry him with him.

"Good," Hiro answers cheerfully. "Is Fred here yet?"

"Not yet," Tadashi chuckles, finding the little boy's excitement to meet his boyfriend adorable.

"Aw…" Hiro gives him a tiny pout, obviously disappointed that their guest hadn't arrived yet.

"But I thought maybe you'd like to help me make dinner for all of us!" Tadashi gently adds.

"Ooh, yes!" Hiro agrees eagerly, his good mood instantly returning. "Yes please! I want to help!"

"Great!" Tadashi beams down at him, happily touching his nose to the little boy's and making him giggle.

"What are we making?" Hiro asks curiously as they enter the kitchen.

"Pizza," Tadashi answers with a warm smile. "It's Aunt Cass' recipe-she always let me help her make it when I was growing up."

"And now I get to help you make it?" Hiro says with a grin.

"Exactly," Tadashi agrees, lovingly ruffling his hair before setting him down onto the counter-he hadn't really made that parallel yet, but it definitely wasn't something he was going to discourage.

As Tadashi had predicted, Hiro wasn't much of a practical assistant-he was too new to be able to really do a good job with measuring out ingredients or the like, although he was more than happy to pour the ingredients that the older man handed him into the bowl and "assist" with stirring the dough. He was also very enthusiastic when it came to sprinkling the cheese and putting pepperoni on the pizza, meaning that the end result wasn't exactly pretty, but it had been made with a lot of love so Tadashi knew it would taste amazing even if there was a bit too much cheese on it and the pepperoni weren't in perfect concentric circles.

After putting the pizza into the oven and the dishes into the sink to soak, the older man turns back to check on Hiro, only to let out an involuntary laugh when he sees that the little boy was completely covered in flour.

"What?" Hiro asks, frowning in confusion.

"You look like you just went through a snowstorm," Tadashi chuckles, grabbing a cloth to start wiping away the powder as best he could.

"Snowstorm?" Hiro repeats, seeming even more confused.

"Because the flour is white like snow so it looks like you're covered in snow," Tadashi gently explains.

"Oh…" Hiro seems to consider this and then declares, "You look like you're covered in snow too!"

"I guess I do!" Tadashi chuckles, realizing that he was also a pretty big mess. "I think we should probably both get cleaned up and change before Fred gets here. After all, we don't want him getting all powdery too!"

"Okay!" Hiro agrees, obligingly letting Tadashi pick him up and start carrying him back down the hallway.

Once in the bathroom, the older man carefully helps the little boy undress and then settles him into a tub full of warm suds (the bottle of bubble bath he'd ended up with at a white elephant party last year was finally coming in handy) to start cleaning off while he takes his own shower. Like Baymax, Tadashi had thought to make the little robot water safe (after all, he didn't want his system to fry if he got caught in the rain or accidentally fell into a body of water), and since the robot couldn't drown he felt fairly safe with leaving Hiro in the tub while he rinsed himself off. When he finally steps out of the shower, it turns out that the little boy is having a fantastic time playing with all of the bubbles-so much so that Tadashi almost didn't want stop his fun, but Fred was going to be there soon and so after getting himself dressed he's forced to have to pull the plug (literally) and start rinsing the little boy off before toweling him off and getting him dressed. (Unfortunately all he had was the same clothes Hiro had already been wearing so he just had to hope that wiping them off would do-he seriously needed to get him some extra changes as soon as possible.)

He was just finishing drying Hiro's hair with the blow drier when suddenly the doorbell rings.

"Oh, he's here!" Tadashi cries, realizing that more time had passed than he'd thought.

"Fred?" Hiro asks, eyes going wide with excitement.

"Yep!" Tadashi answers with a grin, picking the little boy up. "You ready to meet him?"

"Yes!" Hiro beams up at him, bouncing slightly in his arms.

"Okay then!" Tadashi chuckles and walks out of the bedroom and into the living room.

"Hey, I have an idea," the older man says to the little boy in a conspiratorial whisper as a thought suddenly comes to him. "Wouldn't it be kind of fun to surprise Fred?"

"Um… Yes?" Hiro answers, seeming a bit uncertain but going along with it all the same.

"Maybe while I answer the door, you can wait here in the living room, and then I'll bring him in to meet you-how does that sound?" Tadashi continues.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Hiro asks, seeming a bit confused by the older man's plan.

"Yes, absolutely!" Tadashi reassures him.

"Okay then!" Hiro nods, smiling up at him. "Let's surprise Fred!"

"Okay!" Tadashi laughs, settling the boy on the couch and lovingly pecking him on the forehead before going to greet his boyfriend.

"Took you long enough!" Fred says with a slight smile when the door finally swing open.

"Sorry, I was in the shower," Tadashi apologizes-that was at least mostly the truth without giving away too much.

"I guess I can forgive you, then!" Fred answers, pecking him gently on the cheek.

"Thank you!" Tadashi beams at him, lovingly pecking him back.

"So, what exactly is this 'surprise' you texted me about?" Fred asks curiously as he steps into the entryway, the other man closing the door behind him. "You kind of just sent me that one text and then dropped off the face of the planet, I was starting to worry about you!"

"Sorry, love," Tadashi tells him with a slight smile. "But you know I'm no good at keeping secrets, so the only way to keep this one was to not talk to you!"

"All right, granted," Fred sighs dramatically. "Are you planning to tell me now, though?"

"That is the plan, yes!" Tadashi agrees.

"Okay, so? What is it?"

"Don't you want to guess?"

"You want me to guess what you're excited about?"

"Sure!"

"Excited for you could mean you just received a major research grant or you saw a cute cat video, so that's not exactly a narrow field," Fred points out.

"All right, true, but c'mon, just guess!" Tadashi begs, playfully pouting at him.

"All right, all right!" Fred rolls his eyes before slightly smirking and, after thinking his answer over for a moment, deadpans, "You're pregnant."

Tadashi lets out a snort of laughter-it was an odd sort of inside joke they had together, a sort of automatic response they used whenever one of them said that they had big new or a surprise and was being particularly secretive about it. Obviously neither of them could get pregnant, so that was one surprise that neither of them would actually have for each other in this relationship, but they had fun teasing each other about it all the same. Still, in an odd way, it was actually close to the truth this time and so Tadashi, with as straight a face as he can manage, answers, "Well, not exactly..."

"Wait, what?" Fred blinks in surprise, completely caught off guard by his answer. "You-? What do you-? You can't be-!"

"I'm not actually pregnant!" Tadashi laughs, playfully pecking his cheek. "But there is someone I'd like you to meet."

"I- O-Okay?" Fred answers, apparently too shocked to really be able to form a complete sentence.

"C'mon." Tadashi tries not to laugh as he leads him into the living room, smiling as he gestures to the couch where the little robot was waiting for them. "Fred, I'd like you to meet Hiro."

"W-Who-?" Fred stammers, eyes going wide as he takes in the sight of the boy who greatly resembled Tadashi, a million different possibilities evidently flying through his mind.

Finally deciding to take pity on his poor boyfriend, Tadashi puts a hand on the other man's shoulder and explains with a smile, "He's my latest project."

"Project?" Fred glances between Tadashi and Hiro, and then understanding seems to dawn on him. "Oh-OH! I-Is this what you've been working on for so long?"

"Yep!" Tadashi agrees with a proud grin. "H.I.R.O.-a healing, interfacing robotic operating system. He's a psychological/emotional companion, kind of like a cross between Baymax and a service animal and an adorable little kid all rolled into one."

"H-He's incredible!" Fred cries, seeming just as excited as the other man now that he knew what was going on. "He looks so real!"

"He does, doesn't he?" Tadashi agrees, pride mixing with just a tinge of something sour in his chest-he knew that Hiro was a robot, and he was glad that Fred thought he appeared completely human, but was it wrong that he was a bit upset that anyone would think that Hiro wasn't, in fact, "real"? Well, in his boyfriend's defense, he hadn't interacted with the little boy yet or even knew exactly what he was capable of, so maybe things would change once he had.

"Hiro, it's okay, you can talk to him," the engineer gently prompts, seeing that toddler was looking a bit lost by the conversation and even a bit nervous. "I promise, he's as nice as Aunt Cass."

"Hi…" Hiro waves shyly to Fred, seeming a bit unsure as to what he was supposed to be doing but wanting to follow Tadashi's wishes all the same.

"Oh, hi!" Fred answers with a surprised grin. "Wow, so you can talk too? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, knowing Dashi built you, but still!"

"Dashi made me so I can do a lot of things!" Hiro states proudly.

"That sounds about right," Fred says with a warm chuckles, grinning up at his boyfriend.

"Tadashi talks about you a lot!" Hiro continues, apparently wanting to try to impress the older man.

"Oh does he?" Fred flashes Tadashi a playful look.

"Mm!" Hiro agrees eagerly. "He tells me what you guys do when you spend time together and how he loves you a lot and how he thinks you're as handsome as a prince out of a storybook!"

"He's said that about me?" Fred asks, seeming on the verge laughing.

Tadashi just shrugs and smiles in response-it didn't make any sense to deny it, and it wasn't like his boyfriend didn't know what he thought of him after over five years together.

"Well, I think he's just as handsome as a prince, if not even more so!" Fred declares, lovingly pecking his boyfriend's cheek.

"Aw!" Tadashi grins and lovingly pecks him back.

"So, wow-this is really amazing, Dashi!" Fred says after pulling him in for a proper kiss. "He's absolutely incredible-not that I'd expect anything less from you, but still!"

"Thanks-" Tadashi starts to answer, a pleased blush crossing his cheeks, when suddenly he hears the oven timer going off. "Oh, I need to go check on dinner!"

"I'll come with you," Fred offers.
"Sure." Tadashi flashes him a grateful smile before quickly telling Hiro, "We'll be back in just a moment, okay?"

"Okay!" Hiro agrees, beaming up at him before contentedly nuzzling into the couch cushions.

At first Tadashi just thought that Fred wanted to help, but somehow the atmosphere between them changes as soon as they're in the kitchen and away from Hiro, an oddly uncomfortable silence falling between them, and as the engineer works he can't help but feel a storm brewing.

"So…" Fred finally says slowly once his boyfriend has checked on the pizza and is starting to pull it out of the oven. "An emotional/psychological companion, huh?"

"Yep," Tadashi agrees, not quite meeting the other man's eyes as he slides the pizza onto a hot pad to keep it from scorching the countertop.

"Dashi… I don't mean to pry, but has it really been that bad for you lately?" Fred suddenly asks softly.

"I… I don't know," Tadashi answers, his shoulders sagging slightly. "I mean, not really any worse than usual? Look, I didn't just make Hiro because I've been having ptsd nightmares, I swear! I really thought he was something that could help a lot of people, and if he helps me in the meantime, well, is that such a bad thing?"

"It's not," Fred answers, a slightly worried expression on his face. "But if you're making him because it's easier for you to go to a robot than to another person for help, don't you think you should reach out to your friends and family first…?"

""Look, I know you're concerned about me, and I get it!" Tadashi feels himself snapping slightly. "But I can't help it if I have a hard time talking to people about the shit I'm going through, okay? I try to talk to you when I can, but you're human too, you can't be there for me every time I have a nightmare or a really bad flashback!"

"But I want to be!" Fred argues.

"But you can't!" Tadashi snaps, instantly regretting it when he sees the injured look on his boyfriend's face. "I-I'm sorry, Fred," he finally manages to get out, distractedly running his hands through his hair. "It's not that I don't trust you-I do. I tell you more about all of this than I tell anyone else. And I try to be good about opening up to you. But I can't be completely dependent on you either. I need to figure out how to process and handle this stuff on my own, and Hiro's one of my ways of doing that."

"I-I'm sorry too," Fred finally says softly, tentatively wrapping his arms around the other man and, when he isn't pushed away, pulling him closer. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I just… I hate seeing you hurting on your own if there's something I can do about it."
"You've done so much for me, and you have no idea how much I appreciate that," Tadashi tells him, gently nuzzling up against him. "And I'm not trying to replace you with Hiro, I swear. I just… I need to learn how to be independent too, and I really think if Hiro can help me learn how to do that, then maybe he can help others too."

"I can respect that," Fred reassures him, lovingly pecking his forehead. "Just don't forget that I'm here and so are all of our friends whenever you need us, okay?"

"I won't," Tadashi promises. "If anything, I think Hiro's helping with that. He got me to go visit Aunt Cass today when I hadn't planned on doing that, and he got me even more excited than I'd normally be about out date tonight-I keep thinking about places I want to take him and things I want to do with him and I think he's actually going to get me out of the house and interacting more with people than I usually would!"

"Well, that definitely is amazing," Fred admits with a small grin. "Not that there's anything wrong with staying inside and having some alone time if you need it."

"Oh, of course not!" Tadashi agrees. "It's just nice feeling like I can actually enjoy doing slightly more social things when I have the energy for it, and when I don't I know that I can just stay here and Hiro will be fine with that too."

"You really care a lot about him, don't you?" Fred says softly, taking in his boyfriend's expression.

"Yeah, I do," Tadashi admits. "I know it's crazy since he's a robot, but… He's kind of like the little brother I never had, or maybe even…"

"Like a son?" Fred puts in gently when his boyfriend trails off.

"Kind of, yeah," Tadashi answers, flushing slightly. "I-Is that weird?"

"No," Fred reassures him. "I know how much you love kids, and I know that you've always wanted one of your own, so if Hiro's a healthy way you can process that, then I'm all for it. I just have one request."

"What's that?" Tadashi asks, feeling a bit nervous.

"That you let me be a part of this," Fred answers gently.

"W-What?" Tadashi asks, honestly surprised by his answer.

"It sounds like you're going to be spending a lot of time with Hiro, and it sounds like that's going to be a good thing for you," Fred responds. "But if something major is going on in your life, then I want to make sure I'm a part of it, if you'll let me. And if Hiro's going to be like your little bro or you son, then I want to be his other big bro or dad or whatever it is you end up deciding on-I just want to make sure that I'm doing as much to support you as anyone or anything else. Is that okay with you?"

"I-Actually, I'd really like that," Tadashi admits, a slight flush on his face.

"Yeah?" Fred grins down at him.

"Yeah." Tadashi smiles up at him before burying his face into his boyfriend's chest and saying, "I love you so much, you know that, right?"

"I do," Fred reassures him, lovingly kissing his forehead. "And I hope you know that I love you just as much."

"I do."

"Good. And if you ever forget, I will tell you over and over again until you remember it again."

"...You're such a dork, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. But I'm your dork."

"Yes. Yes you are."