AN: Forgive me for my characterizations, I realized half way into writing that I felt uncomfortable with the characters and then that I hadn't seen the movie for three years so next chapter will be better 😉
Chapter Two – In Memory
Tadashi looked up from the bed. He wanted to sit in the dark. The dark was comforting to him and whilst Cas and Hiro were able to break through the walls he had put up between himself and the rest of the world, he did enjoy being in the dark. Hiro. He had left Hiro alone. Their parents hadn't been there for them and he had just abandoned his little brother, he felt ashamed at doing that.
"Do you require assistance?" Baymax asked as he stood in the hallway. "The feeling that I am diagnosing you with is depression although there are numerous injuries to your body including your lungs and spinal cord and also nerve damage to your face where the burn is healing. Do you desire medication for the pain?"
"I'm fine," Tadashi said as he tried to ignore his own creation. He was glad that Baymax had survived for so long but the pain was a natural part of healing. The robot should be able to understand that.
"You are my master, my creator. I am programmed to care primarily for your health," Baymax said and Tadashi looked at him confused. He didn't remember programming him to feel that way. Baymax was meant to care about everyone the same. He was supposed to provide treatment for everyone. Could something have happened in the design of his technology.
"Please don't call me your master," Tadashi whispered before standing from the bed and approached the robot. "I don't mind you calling me your creator but you're supposed to help everyone, big guy," he said as he put a hand on Baymax's puffy white body.
"Is there anything that you require from me?" the robot asked and Tadashi sighed as he looked at the project he had spent so long on. He knew that Baymax wasn't supposed to feel emotions towards others, he wasn't an android but a health care device but there was something Tadashi felt that he needed.
"Could I ask for a hug?" he said and Baymax wrapped him up in his arms.
"You are my creator," Baymax told him, "I am supposed to give you health care. Your health care program can be set up for maximum recovery."
Tadashi nodded as he kept his eyes closed. It felt good to be home.
…..
…..
Hiro looked at the four other people in his group. He felt terrible about hiding the fact that Tadashi was alive from their friends but he wanted to respect his brother's privacy. He just wished that he had returned before this, on another day.
"Hiro," Wasabi said as he put a hand on Hiro's shoulder, the boy had definitely grown during the previous year. "You wanna slow down? I mean, I know this is a tough day for all of us but if you wanna talk about anything."
"I'm fine," Hiro said as he concentrated on the ground. He saw Fred tilt his head without saying anything, his eyes focusing on the young teenager.
"Like hell you are," Gogo commented. "I wouldn't be fine if I were you."
"What we're trying to say, Hiro," Honey Lemon told him as she tried to make eye contact with him. "Is that we understand how hard this day is on you. I never have lost a brother but Tadashi was a friend to all of us. We're all in this together."
"I mean as long as we're calm and collected and respectful at the memorial service, it should be fine, right?" Wasabi asked as he looked at his team mates and found Fred to be quiet. He wondered if he should be worried about him. Usually Fred would jump right into the conversation but he seemed to be studying Hiro for some reason. Well, Wasabi was concerned about his younger friend as well but he seemed to be acting as he should when confronted by the loss of his big brother.
"You'd really have accepted Tadashi, wouldn't you?" he asked as Fred hummed, seeming to put something together mentally. He was surprised none of the others had sprung to the idea that maybe there was something supernatural happening here. "I mean, if he'd escaped the fire but he'd been burnt."
"I don't understand, Hiro" Honey Lemon said as she blinked confused. "Tadashi was a close friend to all of us. What does a burn have to do with him being the person he was? Tadashi would be proud of you."
"What is the deal with a burn anyway?" Go Go asked, "If he had escaped that fire with some kind of scarring, it wouldn't change anything. How could it? You know sometimes scarring can be kind of cool anyway."
"Burns can be healed if they are treated and cared for responsibly," Wasabi nodded, "but even if they can't, Tadashi never strove for perfection. He always respected the order things should be done in but he was okay with taking risks. I mean, if he didn't care then I don't think any of the rest of us would care."
"Exactly," Honey Lemon finished. "We'd all prefer for our friend to be with us no matter what kind of injuries he's sustained. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Hiro said as he looked down. "Let's just go to the memorial."
"Uh, yeah" Fred finally spoke and they all turned to him. He looked a little confused and out of it, well being out of it wasn't unusual for him but he seemed strangely focused at the same time. Sometimes he didn't explain his thought process and that was causing the others to have concerns. "I'm sorry. I'll meet you guys there, I just have to go somewhere first."
"You want me to come with?" Wasabi asked, "I mean, are you sure you just want to run off from the memorial? There's a set schedule for a reason, right?"
"Nah, I'm cool going alone. I just thought of something that I have to check out. Something that I don't think the rest of you are all that ready for, sorry and all," he said before walking off and Hiro felt a little discomfort. He saw the other three blink in surprise and he felt his body tense. No. He was so careful, there was no chance in Fred figuring it out and everyone else not doing so.
…
…
Fred didn't feel right about sneaking into the Hamada home. It wasn't that he hadn't snuck into buildings before, it had been one of his minor goals to learn how to pick locks but not for any criminal reason. This felt a little too much like a felony. Still, he was too invested in his idea to not check it out if only to be proved wrong.
Once he had the door open, he closed it and listened for any subtle movement. Pressing his back against the wall, he heard some shifting from the kitchen. He saw a shadow and managed to hold back on whistling some kind of anime theme tune.
He quickly opened the door and felt a cold chill against his body and saw a snap of what looked like blue electricity. He must be imagining things. Maybe he wasn't getting the right amount of sleep after all. As he looked at the man in the corner though, he saw a rather traumatized Tadashi who was copying an anime pose. What the…
"Fred?" Tadashi asked as he looked around and wrapped an arm around himself. He hadn't expected for anyone to come here and he had only come down to the kitchen because he needed some water. He bowed his head, trying to not give eye contact.
"Noooo waaay," Fred said as he looked at him before smiling. Hiro had given the game away and it had been kind of obvious thinking about it. He saw the burn that Hiro had been referring to. It was definitely a moderate or even severe burn but it hadn't affected his whole face. Kind of giving him that Deadpool look but like only half.
"How are you here?" Tadashi asked as he reached for the glass of water. "Did Hiro…"
"Hiro didn't tell us anything and isn't that my question that I should be asking you?" Fred commented and then sighed, "I mean, as weird as this is. It's pretty cool, we should tell the others, have you turn up at your own memorial."
"It's complicated, I'm not ready to explain and I'm not ready to reveal the fact that I'm alive," he told him and Fred shook his head.
"That's a shame because all that we'd want to do is help," he told him and Tadashi looked at him nervously. He wasn't ready to face the others. It wasn't as if he had wanted to falsify his death but it had taken him such a long time to get back here and he was hurt because of what he had been through. "You've been through a lot, huh"
"More than you would ever believe," Tadashi replied before looking at the robot who had just made his way to the kitchen.
"Ah, responsible," Baymax said, "To be with friends is a wise health care decision," he said and Tadashi shook his head. He gripped to the counter, trying to hide it from Fred who looked between them. "I can give you another hug if you would like."
"Dude, seriously," Fred said as he patted Baymax's side, "It's pretty cool. Always felt like hugging some toasty marshmallow to me," he grinned and Tadashi shook his head before his hand started to shake and Fred saw how he tensed up. He hadn't really seen Tadashi scared like this before, the man didn't seem himself but he must have come a long way to be with them. Yeah, it was best to give him so—
There was a sound as the floor of the kitchen caught on fire and Fred stared at Tadashi and saw that his hand was just above the fire. "Don't tell anyone you saw me, okay?" Tadashi asked quickly as he grabbed some water and a rag and put the fire out. "Please. Whatever you do, I'm not ready. I don't want to see anyone."
"Harsh," Fred said before sighing, "But I understand, I'll talk to the others. You won't have to but you should, dude. You really should. We'd all be so happy that you're alive. If you do keep it secret though, please tell the others that I was against it," he said and Tadashi nodded shakily.
"Fire has just come out of your hand," Baymax said, "there is nothing in my database for it. You do not seem to have burned that hand."
"Hey, Baymax," Fred said, "Think this is one thing you shouldn't comment on," he said and Tadashi looked away nervously. Thankfully Hiro hadn't seen that.
End of Chapter Two
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter One
Guest (x2), misherukuro