Hey everyone! I got back from England safe and sound, had a lovely trip with my family, and may or may not have spent the flight over cackling to my sister about this fanfic (which I actually managed to write for in the little down time that I had lol). I actually wound up getting a new idea for an original story while I was there as well, but of course, it's all in the very early stages of development. So not only is England a very beautiful country, it's also very inspiring :)

Believe it or not, it actually took me several tries to get this chapter going the way I wanted it to. Not only that, but the Word document for it wound up being so long, I had to split it in half. Yes, that's right everyone: I wrote two chapters at once. Hopefully that means the next update will be coming sooner rather than later.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney and Marvel.


For a moment, neither of them moved. Maiye struggled to catch her breath, while Hiro stood still in shock. However, when Maiye caught the expression on his face, she let out a heavy sigh.

"Before you ask," she said carefully. "Because I know for a fact that you are going to ask… it isn't like that. I'm not, under any circumstances, with them." She spat out the last word with no small amount of venom.

Hiro didn't respond, even as Baymax touched down next to him.

The robot turned to Maiye. "Hello," he said. "My sensors indicate that you have fallen."

"Huh?" Maiye raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?"

"I am Baymax," came the automated response. "Your personal healthcare companion."

"Baymax?" questioned Maiye. "I thought that – Hiro said – what's going on here?"

"That's funny," Hiro finally found his voice and glared at Maiye. "I was just about to ask you that."

Maiye gave another sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Look, Hiro-"

"Hey man!"

Spinning around, Hiro saw Fred leaping onto the rooftop, with the rest of the team following close behind. While Wasabi and Honey were clearly fine, he noticed that Gogo was favoring her left arm.

Flipping up his hood, Fred wiped the arm of his suit across his forehead.

"Phew!" he said aloud. "There's my daily workout! You should have seen it Hiro, those girls are no joke. That blonde one, for instance? She's nuts! Hit Gogo right in the arm with that nasty ball of hers."

"I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times," snapped Gogo. "I'm fine."

"Honestly though," Fred shook his head. "That chick is a few eggs short of a full – Oh hey Maiye! What's up?"

"Wait, Maiye?" Wasabi looked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Wouldn't we like to know." said Hiro sarcastically.

"Well," Fred narrowed his eyes and peered at her outfit. "I know for a fact it's not Halloween, so you're outta luck there, kiddo!"

"Oh, will you open your eyes?" Hiro cut in. "Look where we found her! I think it's obvious what she's doing here!"

"Maiye," Honey's eyes widened with concern. "You… You don't work with those awful girls, do you?"

"No!" Maiye looked disgusted at the very prospect. "I-It isn't what it looks like!"

"Well it doesn't look very good." Hiro crossed his arms and threw her an icy glare.

"Stop jumping to conclusions," Maiye said firmly. "And let me speak. You haven't got all the facts yet, Hiro."

"Then what are the facts?" asked Gogo. "About you?"

Maiye remained silent for a moment. Then, she released a long breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

"For starters," she said calmly. "Let's get one thing straight. I do not work for or with those girls in any way, shape, or form. Actually…" she paused, unsure as to whether or not she should continue. But in the end, she decided why not?

"I work with the police."

"The police?" asked Honey.

"Yes." said Maiye. "They needed someone doing surveillance work, and I just happened to be very bored. I didn't really do much at first, just sat around and watched, but one day I slipped up and let them see me. They came after me, and… I fought back."

"If you're working for the police," said Wasabi. "Then how come I didn't see your file?"

"Technically," said Maiye. "It doesn't exist."

"Does this mean you're a cop then?" asked Fred.

"No." clarified Maiye. "That's the last thing I am."

"I kind of figured by your outfit." Fred gestured towards her silvery-gray ensemble. "I mean, cops don't dress like that, right?"

"No, they don't." said Maiye, and another small chunk fell off of her suit. She grimaced. "I guess I'm going to have to fix it now."

"I bet Hiro could help you with that." offered Fred, turning towards the other young genius with a pointed smile.

Hiro didn't respond, even as the other team members exchanged glances and Maiye stepped forward to speak.

"Hiro-"

"Why didn't you tell me about this?!" he yelled at Maiye. "Huh? I want to know. Why didn't you say anything to me about this? Why did you lie?"

Maiye's jaw dropped. "Excuse you?"

"You didn't tell me about any of this!" Hiro gestured wildly about him. "All that time we hung out and you never said a word!"

"Now wait just a moment," Maiye gave Hiro a very firm look. "Don't you dare pin this all on me, I kept my mouth shut for a reason. And besides," she continued with a wave. "You didn't exactly mention this to me either."

"I – That's different!" he insisted.

"How?" Maiye was slowly starting to lose her patience. "Judging by the looks of it, your work and my work are very similar. The only difference is that I'm not losing my cool about it like you are."

"I am not losing my cool!" shouted Hiro.

"Your tone of voice would suggest otherwise." Maiye exhaled heavily. "Honestly Hiro, would you stop throwing a temper tantrum about all this? I know two-year-olds who have behaved better than you about such things."

Ouch.

"I'm immature for being upset?!" he yelled. "You know, I think I'm allowed to be upset about things that bother me!"

"You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"This isn't nothing, Maiye!"

"I don't have time for this." Maiye threw her hands into the air. "Not when I have criminals to catch."

Straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders, she spun around and disappeared into the night, leaving the members of Big Hero 6 in her wake. After she left, Gogo was the first to break the silence. Turning to Fred, she asked,

"What the hell was that?"

Fred merely offered a shrug in response, as if to say, Who knows?

"This isn't making any sense." mused Honey.

"To be honest Hiro," came Wasabi's response. "You did lose your cool a little bit."

Hiro remained silent for a moment, not saying a word, before he finally spoke in a low, sullen voice.

"Let's go home, guys."

Gogo actually looked surprised. "You don't want to go after her?"

"She probably hasn't gone far." noted Honey.

"I bet Baymax could catch her." was Fred's suggestion.

"I said let's go home, guys."

The others all remained silent for a moment, before Honey finally broke the silence.

"Okay, Hiro."

Without a word, Hiro trudged over towards Baymax and started climbing on. As he did so, he could hear Fred talking to Gogo and Honey in a low voice, clearly trying not to be heard.

"She does know they're already gone," he told the girls. "Right?"

Hiro was just about to launch Baymax when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Wasabi looking up at him.

"I know you're upset at her." He said. "But just remember buddy, you don't have all the facts yet."

Hiro didn't respond. Instead, he latched himself onto Baymax, commanded him to fly, and took off into the night without another word.


The next few days passed by without any incident, although Hiro and Maiye barely spoke to one another. Wasabi had checked up on Maiye's file at the police station, and sure enough, she was the real deal. Yet, when he showed this information to Hiro, all he got in response was a nonchalant, "Hmm." before the young genius went back to his work. Needless to say, Honey found herself growing more and more concerned over the situation, and brought it up to Maiye as they were eating lunch together.

"What's there to be concerned about?" Maiye asked in between mouthfuls of fruit salad. "He sounds like he's already made up his mind."

"It's not like him, though." insisted Honey. "He never acts this way. He's usually the type of person who takes facts at their face value."

"Well, in this case," said Maiye. "He probably thinks the current fact are contradictory with the ones he thinks are true. Therefore…" she shrugged.

"He's being stubborn." Honey sighed. "Have you talked to him at all since it happened?"

"Only about project related things." responded Maiye. "And even then he doesn't say much."

"To be honest," said Honey. "You both said some very harsh things to each other."

Maiye wouldn't deny that. She already knew she wasn't a fun person to argue with. But if Hiro wasn't willing to talk things out, then… what else was there to do?

Glancing down at her watch, Maiye then realized that her next class was due to start in fifteen minutes.

"I'd better get going," she said, rising to her feet. "But I'll see you later Honey, all right?"

"Okay." Leaning forward, Honey enveloped Maiye in a quick hug, and the other girl flinched slightly.

"Just hang in there."

"Thanks." With a small smile, Maiye threw away her trash and walked out of the cafeteria.

Once she got outside, a cool breeze immediately hit her, causing her to shiver. Although San Fransokyo was certainly warmer than New Yorksea in December, the day was still chilly, and her light cardigan wasn't doing much to help.

She instinctively thought back to one time in Hiro's lab when it had been particularly cool, like today, and Maiye had neglected to bring a sweater. Ever the sweetheart, the fellow genius had offered her his blue SFIT hoodie. Since Maiye was about four inches taller and at least thirty pounds heavier than Hiro, of course it had been a little snug. They'd had a good laugh at that though, and Maiye had conveniently forgotten to give it back later on.

Maiye frowned. With the way things were looking right now, Hiro probably wouldn't be offering her his hoodie again anytime soon.

Oh, what was she so upset about anyways? She wondered to herself. He's only a boy. And by all accounts, Hiro just didn't suit her anyways. He was always loud, his lab was a mess, and the boy was long overdue for a haircut. There had been several moments during the past few months when Maiye had contemplated grabbing a pair of scissors and doing the job herself.

Yet, on the rare occasions when he did come in with freshly trimmed locks? Maiye found herself feeling slightly disappointed.

She hadn't been lying to him that night. To Maiye, lies were the coward's way out, the easy way. And if there were two things in the world that Maiye Barton hated more than anything, it would be those. After all, she hadn't graduated her private high school at sixteen years old by skimping on her work or telling tall tales to teachers, now had she? No, Maiye always wanted the truth about certain matters, no matter how harsh it may be.

Another cool breeze passed, and Maiye scowled, realizing that something else was off about her right now thanks to this chilly weather – her lips were chapped. Rummaging through her bag for her lip balm, she tried to deter her mind away from another pair of lips that she couldn't help thinking of.

Her first kiss. Her first kiss ever.

It hadn't been like the movies, of course. No first kiss ever truly is. It had been awkward and nerve-wracking and she was pretty sure he'd whacked her nose a couple of times.

But it had been perfect.

And, as with all things perfect, she should have known it would never last.

Angry and frustrated, Maiye gave up the search for her lip balm and continued on her way, purposely ignoring the memory of a certain messy-haired boy, his certain gap-toothed smile, and the absolutely uncertain way her carefully-constructed mind turned to mush whenever she was around him.

Stupid boy.


Meanwhile, someplace deep in the underground areas of San Fransokyo, someone else was thinking about Hiro Hamada's messy hair and gap-toothed grin, among other things. But rest assured, her thoughts were much brighter.

Humming along to her special playlist of favorite love songs, Aimi Fujita happily cut out yet another image from today's newspaper. She had already gone through every magazine in the headquarters (whether they belonged to her or not) up to the current issues, and now she was working her way through the newspapers as well. It was perfect really, so many pretty pictures and wonderful interviews for her to enjoy. It was a good thing he always seemed to make the front pages, for she liked the colored photos best of all. But even when he didn't, well, anything was better than nothing, right?

Once she had finished, Aimi gathered all the pictures she had collected and skipped down the long hallway towards the bedroom she shared with Kyoko and Ren – for now, at least. Then, picking up a role of duct tape she had swiped from one of the goons, she began taping the photographs over her bed.

Oh, he was just so handsome, now wasn't he?

Once she had finished, Aimi settled back on her fluffy pink duvet and surveyed her completed handiwork. Yes, it was perfect.

Finally perfect.

With a giggle, Aimi took hold of her pillow and flopped back onto the bed, cuddling it to her chest and singing along to her music. As she did so, dozens of cutout photographs of Hiro Hamada watched faithfully over her.

He was going to be hers. He was, she just knew it. When Yama took over San Fransokyo with his big robots like he was planning and got back at him for that nasty bot fight, Aimi would have full run of the city and of Hiro.

And how delightful would that be!

Aimi smiled. She knew things would work out just fine for the two of them. After all, Yama had promised her it would.

And Yama never broke a promise.


I know, probably not the most exciting chapter I've written thus far, but in the grand scheme of things, a pretty important one. I wanted to include more, but I like to keep all my chapters at a similar length, so I'm afraid it's going to have to wait until next time. I'm sure Aimi won't mind though. She seems to be keeping herself fully occupied at the moment.

I also want to thank everyone for all the follows, faves, and reviews you have given me throughout the course of this story. I know I've said it before, but it really does mean a lot to see that you guys are enjoying this :)

I'm currently making tweaks to the "official trailer" for this fanfic, and along with that, I'm working on a tumblr blog for it. I already have a personal blog over there, but it's currently a mishmash of everything I find interesting at the moment, and I'd rather not force you all to wade through post after post just to find what you're looking for XD

As always, reviews are appreciated, and I hope your summers are all going well :)

-Liz