Hiro woke up early. The sun was just starting to reach passed the mountains and touch San Fransokyo. He very carefully slid out from under Tadashi's arm and tiptoed down to the garage. He had some work to do before heading to a morning lecture. Tadshi woke up hours later. He shifted and muttered trying to get the sunlight off his face. When it became clear that the sun was well and truly up, Tadashi relented and opened his eyes. Baymax was still with him but Hiro was gone and looking at the clock Tadashi knew why.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked Baymax groggily.
"Rest is important," Baymax replied. Tadashi just shook his head and pushed himself to the edge of the bed and pulled the wheelchair closer. Tadashi went through the motions, getting ready for the day in a fog. He regretted getting out of bed. Tadashi was running a comb through his short hair, brushing it first one way and then the other, when Aunt Cass knocked on the door frame. Tadashi saw her in the mirror.
"Hey Aunt Cass," Tadashi muttered. "Which way looks better?"
"They look the same," Cass snorted. Hurry and get ready. We need to go shopping." She ordered. Tadashi nodded.
Ten minutes later Baymax carried Tadashi down to the café, left him at one of the tables, and went back for the wheelchair. Cass's heart clenched when she saw Tadashi waiting in the wheelchair. He was wearing a SFIT sweatshirt and jeans. His San Fran Ninjas baseball cap was pulled down low. It was clear in that Tadashi was trying to hide. In Tadashi's mind shopping meant a grocery run for the café, picking up supplies for poetry night. Cass took a deep breath and walked up beside Tadashi. "Ready? I've got the van for the day," she grinned. Tadashi nodded. He followed her out the door to the van. Tadashi hated that he had to wait, wait for Aunt Cass to get the door, wait for the wheelchair ramp to unfold, and wait for Baymax to help him adjust the seatbelt.
"So where are we going?" Tadshi asked as Aunt Cass backed out of the driveway.
"I figured we'd start with the mall. It's a weekday and it's early so the place should be pretty dead," Cass grinned. In the rearview mirror, she saw Tadashi frown. "You need new clothes," Cass insisted. Tadashi didn't say anything. He just pulled the baseball cap lower. Cass turned the radio on to alleviate the awkward silence. She started humming along and by the time they reached the mall, Cass was singing under her breath. That made Tadashi smile despite the fact that going out in public made him want to puke. They parked in one of the handicapped stalls near the entrance and Tadashi had to wait for the ramp to unfold. Baymax deactivated and they left him in the van. At first, Tadashi was paranoid that people were staring at him. He wasn't sure if the lack of crowds made this easier or harder. On one hand it was easy to get around, but he couldn't disappear into the crush of people. Tadashi kept tugging the hat down, trying to cover the scar on his face. The ones on his hands were impossible to hide. Wearing mittens would attract more attention than the swirls of scar tissue. Cass had to keep reminding herself to walk slower than normal. Tadashi was lagging behind her. She pretended to window shop, waiting for him to catch up. Tadashi was frustrated. He was so slow in the wheelchair. It was clunky and the wheels were in need of some lubricant. Getting started from a standstill required a lot of strength. Tadashi's arms were getting sore by the time they hit the third store. He pointed out shirts to Aunt Cass and she grabbed them, occasionally coming back with a few extras.
Cass smiled at Tadashi's taste in clothes. A plain black V-neck, a red shirt with a small pocket, another black one with Godzilla's silhouette in white. She went to grab an army green, zip up sweatshirt off the rack and came back with it and a light blue, button down cardigan.
"How about this?" Cass asked. Tadashi smiled at the sweater.
"Sure. You and Honey are determined that I'm going to be stylish," Tadashi teased.
"I've got to do something to offset Fred's influence. I mean Godzilla?" Cass fired back.
"It's cool," Tadashi protested. Cass snorted.
"Whatever. Hiro's going to call you a nerd," Cass said, adding the sweater and sweatshirt to the basket.
"I am a nerd," Tadashi muttered under his breath. "That's not a bad thing."
Cass laughed out loud at that. She could see Tadashi smiling slightly under his hat.
"Come on. Let's go look at the shoes. There's supposed to be a sale," Cass grinned. Tadashi groaned. Of course Aunt Cass would want to look at the shoes. She picked up the basket and headed out.
"What's with women and shoes?" Tadashi mumbled as he followed her.
In the end, they hit four stores. Tadashi ended up with five new shirts, three new pairs of jeans, a green jacket, the sweater, and a new pair of tennis shoes. Tadashi protested the shoes.
"It's not like I'm walking or running anywhere," he hissed. "Mine are fine."
"Yours are disgusting. That pair should have gone to the garbage a long time ago," Cass fired back.
"I might as well just go barefoot," Tadashi snapped, "It's not like I'm going to step on anything."
Cass drew back at that. The bitter edge in Tadashi's voice cut. Tadashi saw Aunt Cass's face fall. A clerk was staring at them. Tadashi's face burned with shame and embarrassment. He had no reason to snap at Aunt Cass.
"Sorry Aunt Cass. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't like wasting that much money on something that isn't really important anymore," Tadashi apologized. Cass nodded and set the shoes back on the shelf. Then she disappeared back down the aisle. Tadashi waited. Cass came back with another box of shoes.
"These ones are on sale," she insisted. Tadashi didn't bother protesting when she knelt down and undid one of his shoes. The clerk was still staring. Tadashi ducked his head. He was ashamed for snapping at Aunt Cass and embarrassed at being dressed like a child. Cass felt the shoe carefully. It was a size above what Tadashi normally wore, but since he couldn't tell if it was too tight she decided that bigger was better. "That's much better. What do you think? Like the color?" Cass asked standing up. Tadashi looked down at his foot resting on the pedal. The shoes were dark gray with red trim.
"They look nice," Tadashi replied.
"Alright then, sold," Cass said. That was the end of the discussion on shoes. The Hamadas were on their way out of the mall. Tadashi kept stopping to rub his hands. His arms were exhausted and he could feel the blisters forming on his hands. Aunt Cass pretended not to notice, but she did a lot of window shopping.
"Is there anything else you need?" she asked during one of these breaks.
Tadashi shook his head and then blinked. "Actually some gloves like those would be nice," he said, pointing at a window display for a sports store. The gloves were fingerless. Probably for golfing Cass figured.
"Let's go look," Cass grinned. Tadashi followed her into the little shop. They clerk found them trying different gloves off the big rack in the back of the store. He was a tall, older man with bright blue eyes and an easy smile.
"Can I help you find anything?" he asked. Tadashi shook his head. Cass launched into a description of what they were looking for.
"My nephew needs some gloves. Fingerless ones. We were looking at these, but they're all padded and I think the palm would tear out pretty quickly," Cass said showing the clerk the gloves in her hands.
"Yeah, you don't want those. I've got some that would be better. Follow me," He nodded. The Hamadas followed the man through the store. Tadashi lagged behind, struggling to make his way through the racks in the clunky wheelchair. The clerk handed Tadashi a pair of black, fingerless gloves. They were light weight, almost mesh like, but the palms were reinforced with tan leather. "These are flexible, breathable, and the palms won't wear out on you," the man said. Tadashi slipped the gloves on and flexed his hands. Aunt Cass was distracted, looking at a rack of athletic shirts. The man watched Tadashi adjust the strap around his wrist. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been in a wheelchair?" the man asked. Tadashi's fingers fumbled with the strap as he pulled the gloves off.
"Not long," Tadashi admitted. He did his best to keep his voice level. The clerk nodded. He looked Tadashi over again, this time noting the scars on his hands and the way he was trying to hide beneath the baseball cap. He saw a lot of kids come through, buying sports equipment or workout clothes. He was pretty good at reading them. He looked at the young man in the wheelchair and pegged him for a casual athlete, in good shape but not someone who was going professional. He had the height for a basketball player and the build of a runner.
"You do really well maneuvering that chair. It's a beast. My granddaughter was in a skiing accident several years ago. She hated the chair she had that was like that," the man told Tadashi. Tadashi didn't know what to say. "This must be hard on you," the man continued. Tadashi shrugged. "As good as you are with that thing have you thought about joining any wheelchair sports? I know that did a lot of good for Abby, my granddaughter." Tadashi frowned, no he hadn't thought about anything like that.
"Well?" Aunt Cass asked. "How are those gloves?"
"I like them," Tadashi said. Cass frowned at the emotion in Tadashi's voice. She took the gloves to the counter and paid the clerk. He handed Cass the receipt and gave the gloves to Tadashi along with a business card.
"Think about it. Abby's skiing in the Paralympics this summer," the man said with a smile. Cass blinked in surprise. Tadashi accepted the card and pulled on the gloves.
"Thanks. I will," Tadashi agreed. With his new gloves on, he followed Aunt Cass back out of the mall. He waited for the ramp to unfold, but managed to get the seatbelt adjusted without Baymax's help. Tadashi didn't say anything on the drive home. Cass pulled into the driveway and put the van in park, but didn't shut it off.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "Honestly, how are you doing?"
"My arms are sore and I think I'm going to have some nice blisters on my hands come tomorrow," Tadashi said.
"And?" Cass prompted.
"And I'm tired and I'm sick of being helpless," Tadashi admitted. "I feel like a burden…" Tadashi trailed off. Cass shut the van off, got out, and opened the door by Tadashi. He wouldn't look at her.
"Hey, look at me," Cass ordered. "You are not a burden and you are far from helpless."
"I can't even get into the bathroom without Baymax carrying me!" Tadashi yelled. His voice cracked and he couldn't hold the tears back.
"So?" Cass challenged. "Who built Baymax? You can't climb stairs and tight spaces are hard, think a way around it. You are a genius and you are going to invent a million things that change the world. That isn't changed by the fact that you're in a wheelchair."
Tadashi stared at her. "You just… I'm not… I can't…" Tadashi stammered.
"I know you've lost a lot. I cannot imagine what you are going through, let alone handling it as well as you are. Yes, some doors have closed, but not all of them. And if you really want to do something, you'll figure a way to make it work. I believe in you and I'm always going to support you. The same goes for Hiro, Baymax, and the whole gang." Cass looked Tadashi straight in the eyes. "It's okay to be sad and scared and angry. I'd be worried if you weren't. It's okay to cry and it is okay to talk about it. You don't have to be the strong one all the time."
"Okay," Tadashi said. It was all he could say. Cass nodded and flipped the switch for the wheelchair ramp.
"How about we make some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch?" Cass suggested as Tadashi wiped his face on his sweatshirt sleeve.
"That'd be awesome," Tadashi said. "Thanks Aunt Cass. For everything," he added.
"Anytime sweetheart," Cass smiled.