Everybody say: 'Hiro'

"Wow, a lot of sweet tech here today." Tadashi commented, looking around the showcase building. D-day had finally arrived. Completing Hiro's project had gone exactly as expected, following a course of events remarkably similar to those that had occurred the first time he'd done this. Unsurprisingly, the second time round had been marginally easier. Hiro didn't make as many mistakes as he had the first time round and completed the finishing touches four days ahead of schedule. That meant he was a lot more rested than he had been the first time he'd done this. Unfortunately, knowing what he knew, he was also a lot more nervous and dreading the question that was bound to follow Tadashi's casual statement. "How are you feeling?" Tadashi asked, playfully tapping Hiro on the shoulder.

There it was… The question Hiro was less equipped to answer than he had been the last time Tadashi had asked it, fraught with levels of complexity Tadashi couldn't even begin to imagine. This was the day Tadashi had died and it was up to Hiro to make sure it didn't happen again. The pressure of that realization was positively threatening to make him sick. "You're talking to an ex-bot fighter. Takes a lot more than this to rattle me." Hiro replied, going with the easiest cover story he could come with, sub-consciously providing the same reply he'd provided all those years ago.

"Yep, he's nervous." Gogo said with certainty, casually wheeling one of the bins containing Hiro's micro-bots.

"Oh" Honey Lemon exclaimed.

"You have nothing to fear, little fellow." Fred commented attempting to reassure Hiro. Little did he know that that statement couldn't be further from the truth.

"He's so tense." Honey Lemon commented to the group at large, tilting her head to the side.

"No, I'm not." The protest escaped him before he could even think to hold it back, butterflies surging up in his stomach as he fought to control the terror that threatened to consume him. Breathe Hiro. Do not panic. Panic leads to mistakes. Now was not the time to panic. He needed to be cool, calm and collected so that he could think clearly. He had a plan and had to make sure he executed it flawlessly. Failure was simply not an option.

Hiro was going to be sick…

"Relax, Hiro." Honey Lemon continued. "Your tech is amazing. Tell him, Gogo."

"Stop whining. Woman up."

"I'm fine!" Hiro insisted, not only trying to reassure the others but also himself. Unfortunately his impatience bled through into his tone. He was still struggling to calm his nerves and the gang's well-meaning comments were not helping. They needed to stop talking to him. He needed to think. He couldn't deal with their concern and focus on what he needed to do in order to keep Tadashi alive.

"What do you need, little man?" Wasabi asked, seemingly oblivious to Hiro's growling levels of agitation. "Deodorant? Breath mint? Fresh…."

Oh hell no! Hiro was not revisiting that conversation. That comment would only lead to the dangerous territory of Fred's laundry and underwear habits and the finer details of what Fred did with his underwear was not a topic Hiro was willing to discuss again. It had been disturbing enough the first time round. "I do not need a fresh pair of underpants!" Hiro interjected, hastily cutting Wasabi off before he could finish his last sentence.

Wasabi stared at Hiro in shock, the rest of his offer effectibely cut short. "How did you know I was going to offer you a fresh pair of underpants?" He asked.

Fred's jaw dropped. As in literally dropped open in sheer awe and he managed a whole five seconds of silence before exclaiming. "Woah, the little dude read your mind!" He exclaimed, bouncing up and down in excitement, using the bin he was still holding onto as leverage. "He knew exactly what you were going to say before you said it! There's no way he could have known that without reading your mind! And you all made fun of me for believing that that it was possible. Look who's having the last laugh now? He's not even wearing that neurotransmitter thingy he invented! Oh, oh, I know! His invention must have affected his mind causing it to evolve and develop super powers, just like Spiderman when that genetically modified spider bit him! How cool is that?"

"Hiro didn't read my mind, Fred." Wasabi brushed Fred's declaration off as impossible and provided an answer to his own question simply to avoid Fred's wild theories. "He probably figured out what I was going to say based on the verbal queues I provided to him in the statements I made leading up to my offer. He used those cues and deduced that I was going to offer him underpants. No mind reading required."

"Underpants? Really?" Gogo muttered. "You need serious help." Her comment was all but lost in the heat of Wasabi's and Fred's heated debate.

"That's not possible." Fred insisted.

"Of course it's possible." Wasabi countered. "There is an entire field of study devoted to researching the human capacity for predicting what someone is going to say. This ability is linked to a person's knowledge of linguistic probability which allows someone to infer what is going to be said based situational context, syntax and an intimate understanding of a language's day-to-day usage."

"That may be true but that doesn't explain how Hiro managed to go from deodorant and breath mints to underpants. It's not a logical deduction to make. We've, "Fred pointed at Gogo, Honey Lemon and Tadashi indicatively, "all known you a lot longer than the little guy has and we didn't even know you carried a spare pair of underpants around. How did the little dude know that when he's known you for a lot less time? Admit it, you were surprised!" Fred pointed out.

Wasabi opened his mouth to offer an explanation only to close it once more when none was forthcoming. He was clearly at a loss.

Oh no…

Suddenly Hiro was the centre of attention, five pairs of eyes staring at him with a mixture of disbelief and awe, clearly expecting him to explain himself. His mind to mouth filter had failed him once again. "I… uh…" Hiro floundered eyes darting desperately around the science exposition in the hopes of finding something he could use as a distraction. Anything would do! Surely, there had to be something? An eye-catching experiment, a famous celebrity, someone doing something they shouldn't be? He was even willing to settle for someone that was dressed weird. Only he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. "I guess I… uh… "

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, salvation arrived in the form of a voice, speaking through an intercom. "Next presenter, Hiro Hamada."

Finally! Something was going his way!

"Gotta go. I'm up." Hiro said in a rush, hastily moving towards the stage in a bid to escape the awkward situation his mouth had once again gotten him into. Blurting things out without really thinking them through was starting to become seriously inconvenient.

Then again… maybe not…

His escape plan, however, didn't go as smoothly as he hoped. "Wait!' Honey Lemon reached out, catching hold of the sleeve of Hiro's hoodie two steps before he managed to slip beyond her reach. Why did she have to be so tall? "We need a photo!" She pulled out her cell phone, crowding very pointedly into Hiro's personal space. The rest of the gang followed suit, crowding around Hiro in a show of support. "Everybody say: Hiro."

Okay, so she hadn't stopped him in order to force him to explain his strange insight into the workings of Fred's mind. She only wanted a picture. He'd be free as soon as she snapped it, right?

"Hiro!" The phone clicked, forever immortalizing the deer caught in headlights expression on Hiro's face.

"We love you, Hiro. Good luck!"

"Don't mess it up."

"Break a leg, little man."

"Science, yeah!"

The gang quickly dispersed heading towards their pre-defined positions in the hall, leaving Hiro alone with Tadashi.

Ok, that was one hurdle down…one more to go…

"All right, bro. This is it." Tadashi raised a fist expectantly.

"Yeah." Hiro absently agreed, not really paying attention to Tadashi. "This is it." He stared nervously at the stage, his palms sweating and his heart beating a rapid rhythm in his chest. Hiro was fighting really had not to throw up. This was it, the moment he'd been dreading and the truth was: He wasn't even remotely ready to face it let alone live through it again.

"Come on. Don't leave me hanging." Tadashi continued playfully. He walked around Hiro, hand still raised only to have his features fall when he registered the terrified expression on Hiro's face. "What's going on?" Tadashi asked softly, dropping his hand.

Hiro turned to look at his brother and by look, he meant really look. Tadashi was worried. His warm brown eyes were brimming with concern and his brow was furrowed, revealing a tiny stress line that was destined to become a serious wrinkle. Assuming Tadashi survived long enough to age that is. "I…" Hiro licked suddenly dry lips, wishing he could freeze time forever thus preserving this moment and avoid the looming stress. "I…" This was it. His second chance to make things right and the possibility of failure was every bit as high, if not higher than the potential for success. "I just want you to know I love you." Hiro rushed forward and embraced Tadashi, burying his face in the familiar fabric of Tadashi's cardigan.

"Hey." Tadashi awkwardly returned the embrace, confusion etched into his features. "You got this." It was a testament to the strength of his personality that he did not question Hiro's odd behavior, merely offering the comfort he sensed Hiro needed. Comfort always came first. The questions would come later. It was one of the things Hiro loved about him.

"Yeah." Hiro whispered, drawing away. "I've got this." He gave Tadashi a sad smile before turning away to step onto the stage, preparing to launch into the speech that had had literally changed his life. "Hi. My name is Hiro..."

- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 -

A/N: I really hate writing the chapters that need to follow scenes from the movie. They are incredibly difficult to get right without ruining the flow I am trying to achieve. I have to carefully balance the original dialog that was used in the movie with Hiro's tumultuous thoughts and the subtle changes I want to introduce :(

CrazyBlueOwl: Agreed. I'm a big fan of Sherlock. I'm currently really enjoying the series Elementary. It's a very interesting modern twist on Sherlock for me. Baymax would make an awesome John! It's destiny I tell you, destiny.

Inteviner: Of course I would include you in my notes. I reply to all me reviewers. You guys take the time to leave me a note. It's only fair that I do the same for you. I personally love the idea of an embarrassed Tadashi. He comes across as so put together that its nice to think that may not always be the case.

SaiyanPrincess: Only time will tell if it is a good plan or not. At the moment Hiro just needs to focus enough to actually get through it.