Disclaimer: Big Hero 6: The Series is owned by Disney Animation. I also don't own Christmas, or whatever holiday you may be enjoying.
When I was fourteen, my life changed forever.
And even though I'm much older now, that day still stays with me. It doesn't go away. And I'm glad it hasn't. Because it's made me into the man I am today.
There are two ways to go around life events, both traumatic and pleasant. You can sit and watch them come towards you, regardless of the consequences. Or you can face them head-on.
And even though it took me a while, with the help of my friends and family, I chose the second option.
I hope that this book gives you just a little glimpse into my story. It may not always be pretty (trust me, it wasn't), but you can use what I went through to help write yours.
"Good job, Hiro. You've done the bare minimum. Now you just have to do everything else."
He tapped his fingers on the keyboard. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to do the night before he left for the lodge, but his brain had thought he could get some stuff down before they dissolved into the ether. That clearly went well.
Putting on the special text, he typed out the actual beginning:
Chapter 1 – The Future
...And then he smacked his head onto the desk.
"Man, this is hard. How did she do it for years?"
Hiro's eyes took a long gander around the study for some inspiration. His bookshelves, filled to the brim with volumes and pages of research. His Engelberger Robotics Award. The degree from SFIT on the wall, right next to his brother's. The silly little medal he got from Krei for being Employee of the Month when he was an intern.
Why did he still have that?
"Hiro!"
He turned his head toward the door. A set of dark brown eyes were staring daggers into him.
"Did you wash the bath towels like I told you to?"
"Yeah."
She didn't blink or move her head. "Did you fold them like I told you to?"
Oh.
"Keep in mind that I already know the answer, Genius Boy."
"...To be fair, I did about 90% of what you told me to do. It's like getting an A in school, right?"
She swept her ponytail over her shoulder, perturbed by his weaseling. "I asked you to do one thing. I come home from work, and it's not done. I'm tired, Hiro. Did you at least get everything straightened out with SFIT?"
"Yes. They know I'll be gone for the next two weeks. It's all good to go."
"Fine. Now if you'll excuse me..." She turned away from him and started down the hallway. "I have to finish packing for the trip."
"Karmi!"
Her forehead and eyes came back around the frame.
"...I love you."
Her eyebrow went up. Hiro waited with bated breath for her response.
"I love you, too. But sometime I want to murder you."
"You can't." Hiro held up his left hand, tapping at the ring. "'Til Death do us part', remember?"
Karmi's head went back out of sight, replaced by one of her own fingers.
But not the one that had her wedding ring.
"Well, that was rude."
Hearing her laugh taper off towards the stairs, Hiro tried to put his attention back on his work. But his eyes, instead of going to the screen, landed on the various things on his desk. The original healthcare chip for Baymax, the one Tadashi had made, was set behind a full half-inch of the most protective glass he could find. A picture of Hiro and his friends, gathered together at his graduation from SFIT. Him and Aunt Cass, frozen in time as they danced on the day of his wedding.
Hiro gently picked up the next frame. It was the best picture Megan had taken on that day. It was of him and Karmi, not dancing, not cutting the cake, not doing anything outrageous. It was at the banquet table, and the bride and groom were staring at each other. Not with disdain, or anxiety, or fake excitement. It was with affection, love, and relief.
It was hard to believe that twenty years had passed since they had gotten married. It was even harder to believe they had even gotten to the marriage at all with everything that seemed to be working against them in their relationship. Battles, supervillains, school, the whole nine yards. But they had done it. And now that he was reaching the big four-zero, he felt like everything that had happened was now water under the bridge.
Only for a new set of challenges to appear during that summer.
But that was another story for another time.
A knock came from the door, and Hiro looked up to see someone else there. The teen's hair was messy and unkempt, just like his own. He had his blue SFIT sweatshirt over his black shirt, zipped up to the collar. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as he stepped into the study.
"Are you busy?"
He gave one last glance at his laptop. It didn't seem like he was going to make any more headway into this endeavor. "Not at the moment. What's up?"
"Baymax and I want to ask you something."
"Oh, really?" Now this was more interesting than his writing. "Are you sure it's not just you asking?"
The teenager waved out of the door frame, and Baymax's head appeared near the top. "I was alerted to a crime taking place at Night Market Square, currently being perpetrated by Baron Von Steamer. Dash wanted to request to you that he stop the villain 'in his tracks'."
Hiro noted the time on the grandfather clock in the living room behind Baymax. "Dash, we're leaving tomorrow for Switzerstan and Fred's estate. Can't you just let the police handle it? Kate probably doesn't like you guys butting in this close to the holidays. You know how much she doesn't like paperwork."
"Please? It'll give me a chance to try out those new EMP grenades that I was working on last week."
"Is that why the power kept going in and out? Your mom's electron microscope kept going on the fritz, and she almost sent it through the wall."
"Oh yeah. Sorry." The teen rubbed the back of his head. "So, can I go?"
Hiro took a long look at him. Of course, he didn't like the idea of his son going out and playing hero right before they had to leave for the holidays. It was a thought that was constantly in his mind ever since everything had transpired over the summer.
Not that he had a lot of time to explain it all to his conscience. Dash was practically dancing on his toes waiting for his response.
Hiro sighed. Yeah, he wasn't going to get out of this one.
"OK, but-"
"Thanks, Dad!" He pulled Baymax out the door, heading off to the garage. "Come on, Baymax! Time to get armored up!"
"Goodbye."
His robot's wave shot out beyond his vision, and Hiro had to catch up with his brain to see that the two of them were already gone.
"Dash."
No response.
"Dash!"
Still nothing. Hiro growled under his breath. Time to go into Dad mode.
"Tadashi!"
It worked. The top of his head came back into view, along with his glasses, the glare of the setting sun reflected in them.
"I would feel much better about you going if you took Mio and Ginger with you."
"What? Why?" Dash tapped the bridge of his glasses. "I thought you said that a hero had to be ready at a moment's notice!"
"I also said that a hero is better with a team around them, but I guess you didn't listen to that part, did you?"
Hiro watched as his son pouted. Baymax took the opportunity to raise a finger. "Hiro, he would not be alone. I would be available to provide back-up if necessary."
"I know that, Baymax. But two of your teammates are already at the Frederickson lodge since they left town early, so you might as well have all hands on deck."
Dash motioned to the robot's viewscreen, bringing up a headshot of Boss Awesome's nemesis. "Dad...it's literally just Steamer. He's approaching an age of a hundred and three. What is he going to do? Blow a bunch of water vapor at me?"
"First of all, he's a hundred and four. Second of all...blowing hot air is kind of his schtick. Even we had trouble with him sometimes back in the day."
"According to your villain file, he's just a human head with a steampunk robot body now."
"...Yeah, we don't talk about that."
Dash sighed loudly, but Hiro was firm in his stance. "Fine." He lightly squeezed the left lens of his glasses. "I sent out a call to them to meet me there."
"There we go." Hiro smiled. "Besides, this way, two things can happen. Mio can get some pre-holiday aggression out of her system...and you can ogle at Ginger without her knowing some more."
His son's cheeks went red. "Dad!"
"You don't think I notice you staring at her at school?" Hiro absentmindedly ran his finger around his desk mat. "You don't think I notice a lot of the boys staring at her? She is a very attractive young woman, but I think you're a little too young for her. Plus, Aspen would probably sit in the class that she's the TA in and beat the boys back with a stick."
Dash had no chance to retort, because the side of his lens lit up with two lights: one red and one blue. "There they are. They're meeting me at the square. I'll be back in a little bit. Bye, Dad!" He pushed himself out of the study, just as Karmi was walking back into frame. She silently watched her son and Baymax head toward the garage, and then turned on Hiro.
"Where are they going?"
"Don't worry. They'll be back before you know it."
"That wasn't an answer."
Hiro typed out a few sentences, but Karmi was quick to come up to him, pressing down the screen of the laptop. "Don't pretend to ignore me, Hiro."
"Steamer's causing a scene downtown. Dash is taking care of it."
Karmi crossed her hands over her chest. "You know how I feel about him doing this. Especially right before we're leaving for the holidays."
"Mio and Ginger are there to bail him out in case things go bad. And if not, Kate will read him the riot act."
Karmi fell silent, so Hiro thought the argument was over. But it lingered for a tad too long, so he automatically became suspicious. He felt something tap his computer mouse, and he looked up to see a long, thin box next to his hand, wrapped in a red ribbon.
"I thought we weren't opening Secret Santa gifts until we got to the lodge."
"This isn't a Christmas gift. It's…"
Karmi looked away from him.
"It's an anniversary gift."
Hiro narrowed his eyes at her.
"I-I know that it's way too late, but I felt bad because I came home from that board meeting with Liv that day and I wasn't in a good mood and you surprised me with dinner and it was very sweet and I don't feel like I gave you the proper attention you deserved."
He got up from his chair.
"And I know that we stopped doing anniversary gifts a few years back because we didn't want to pressure each other into getting something last-minute, but I really wanted to-"
"I love it."
Hiro had already opened the box, gingerly taking out the item inside. It was a necklace, simple in its design, but shining brightly in the sunset through the window.
"Platinum?"
Karmi nodded. "For twenty years. I couldn't pass it up. I know it's not extravagant, but you have been the best thing that's happened to me, and I-"
She got cut off again, but this time, it was because Hiro kissed her.
It was alluring. It was passionate. It was the same level that he strove to have every time he kissed her. Karmi put her hand on his cheek, leaning into his body.
After a few seconds, they broke apart. Hiro rubbed their noses against each other, trying to instill some calm into her.
"I love it because you got it for me. The fact that you thought about me even with all of the work at Sycorax, even with everything that's happened with Dash. You're amazing."
Hiro wrapped his arms around Karmi.
"Now I just need to think of something for you."
Karmi snickered. "Damn it, Hiro. You're not suppose to do that. Stop trying to one-up me."
"There's got to be something I can give you."
She reached her arms around his head, beckoning him closer. "Well, why don't you come here and give it to me, then?"
Their mouths came back together with a little more fervor. Hiro had half a mind to sweep the desk and raise her onto it, deepening the kiss even more.
Nothing could take away from this moment.
"Dad, one of your gloves is not magnetizing to Baymax's armor. Can you see if-Gah!"
OK, one thing.
Hiro peeked over his wife's shoulder to see Dash almost suited up in his old armor, retrofitted for Dash's needs. His helmet was on the ground, the hand that had been holding it now covering his eyes, a slow creep of red going up his neck.
"Dad, what did I say about public displays of affection?"
Yup, his IQ may be higher than both Hiro and Karmi, but at heart, he was still a fourteen-year-old boy. And that meant being routinely embarrassed by his parents.
"You were the one who walked in on it, bud," he mumbled into Karmi's mouth.
Ignoring his dad's teasing, Dash tapped one of the fingers in his left, unworn glove. "I think there's a displacement current going through one of your circuits, but Baymax's diagnostics didn't catch it. Can you take a look at it?"
"No, he won't." Karmi lightly pushed Hiro's chest away. "You wrap up whatever you're working on there (she pointed to the laptop). I'll look at it. Let me see, Dash."
He sidestepped over to his chair as Karmi picked up the glove, poking at a couple of the joints. Undeterred, she grabbed the disc that usually went on Baymax's back and flipped open the circuitry pack. She started fiddling with the wires inside as Hiro saved his document.
But having his family in here gave him an idea. He started typing away as Karmi put the finishing touches on her tinkering.
"There. I reprogrammed the magnets so that this and your glove are operating on each other's polarities. It should work now."
Dash held out his hand, and the disc immediately lifted up into the hole in the glove, glowing alongside the tech. "It does! Thanks, Mom!"
"You're welcome. Now, you be careful out there. Let me give you a big good luck kiss!"
Hiro smiled as Karmi bent down and pressed her lips against Dash's cheek. He tried to squirm away, but the ironclad grip she had on him had different ideas.
"Ugh. Mom!"
He laughed under his breath.
Karmi finally relented, leaving a bright pink mark on his cheek. "There. Now you're all ready to go. Don't stay out too long, OK?"
Dash was still blushing madly as he turned the corner out of the office. Karmi had an evil smile on her face, and Hiro was very glad it wasn't directed at him this time.
"Dash, your face is perspiring and flushed. Are you feeling-"
"Never mind, Baymax!"
Hiro kept typing as he heard Baymax's thrusters take off into the sky. He didn't even have to look up to see Karmi was back next to him. Her finger was at the corner, ready to close it again.
"Hiro."
His hands went flat against the keyboard in protest.
"Your lesson plans for the spring can wait until you get back."
"It's not anything with SFIT."
"Krei?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Hiro pushed the laptop over so it was facing Karmi. She leaned down and started muttering to herself as her eyes scanned the text.
"Wait."
She looked back at him.
"You're writing a book."
"A memoir, to be precise."
"I thought you didn't like writing. I still remember that day from school that you didn't do your creative writing assignment for Granville."
"I did end up doing it, but that's not the point." Hiro motioned to the screen. "I was up last one night and my mind started wandering about my life, and I just...started writing."
Karmi scrolled down the document. "You have a good amount of stuff here. But I have a question."
"Shoot," he responded.
Karmi's mouth broke into a grin. "You didn't bother asking the writer of the family for any help?"
"Sorry. I didn't want any delusions of grandeur in here. This is a work of non-fiction, after all." Hiro hit the Save icon and closed out the program. "Not everyone is looking to read about Captain Cutie and his 'incredibly beautiful and talented wife' Karmi."
"Hey, you put those words into that particular story." Karmi scratched his scalp. "Not me."
"At least you're not writing anything about the new team, right?"
Karmi looked wistfully in the other direction.
"Karmi? Are you writing fanfiction about our son?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Now you're ignoring the subject." Hiro got up from his chair and put his arm around his wife. "But in all seriousness...I think I have an interesting story. And I think people would want to read it. Me, my accomplishments, my life."
Karmi stared at him.
"Yes, you are included in that, too. Dash as well. Having the three youngest attendees of SFIT in the same family is a noteworthy milestone, right?"
"You're buttering me up for something."
"I would do nothing of the sort." Hiro kissed her neck. "I'm just in awe of my incredibly beautiful and talented wife."
"Mmm."
The two stood there for a few moments, enjoying each other's company. Karmi then turned around to face Hiro. "You know, now that Dash isn't here, there is something you can do for me."
Hiro, taking a wild guess, started to kiss her, but her finger cut him off. He blinked and saw her snide grin appear. "Not that, weirdo. You need to finish your chores."
"And then can we do that?"
"No. It's sort of not the best time for that."
"Huh?" Hiro leaned back away from her.
Karmi raised her eyebrow at him, and then pointed her finger downward. Hiro looked to where she was gesturing.
It was her belly.
Her very pregnant belly.
"Oh. Right." Hiro sheepishly grinned. "That."
She stifled a laugh. "That is your daughter, Genius Boy. Your as-of-now unnamed daughter."
Hiro powered down his laptop. He really wished that they could have thought of a name in the six months that Karmi had been pregnant, but every one they had thought of just didn't feel right. Dash had been almost instantaneous; this one was being a little more troublesome.
Karmi must've seen his exasperated look, because she rubbed his cheek lovingly. "Hiro, we have all the time in the world. We'll think of something really great for her. Don't worry about it."
"We technically have three months."
"Which is more than enough time. We already have everything else. The crib, the clothes…"
"The impending sense of dread," Hiro said.
"We did it once already. We'll do it again."
Hiro set his hand on her stomach. It was practically a miracle that she was even pregnant again to begin with; Dash's had broken her physically. It had gotten so bad that they made the decision to undergo a medical correction.
But one thing led to another. And that "another" led to the little girl growing in Karmi's womb.
"Speaking of clothes…"
Hiro's ears perked up.
"When I was out getting diapers, I found this really cute maternity swimsuit that I could wear in the hot springs next to Fred's lodge."
Karmi started walking away, her fingers lingering on his arm.
"I could...model it for you, if you want."
Hiro was gripping his computer mouse so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
"You have to come and get me, though."
With that, Karmi was out the door. The sheer seduction that had come out of her voice had caused Hiro's mind to stop working. But it came back on just in the nick of time.
Hiro slammed down his laptop and launched himself into the hallway. Man, for a pregnant woman, Karmi could sure move fast. He rounded the corner and threw his body up the stairs, heading straight toward the bedroom. He rounded the corner…
WUMPH!
And was greeted with something smacking him in the face. It was soft, thought. Hiro peeled it off of his face, half-expecting it to be Karmi's dress…
But it wasn't.
It was a towel.
"This isn't your bathing suit."
"I know, weirdo. I'll show you it, but first…" Karmi pointed to the foot of the bed at the messy pile of other towels. "You're going to fold the laundry like I told you to."
Hiro took one of the bath towels and started to put the corners together.
"Not like that."
"Huh? I'm folding it like you told me to."
"It needs to be trifolded. Here." Karmi swiped it out of his hand. "Watch me, Genius Boy." She whizzed through the process and showed Hiro the neatly folded towel. "See?"
"...No."
Karmi sighed. "Here, I'll show you again." She turned her back to him as she put it on top of the dresser. "Try to pay attention this-"
THWIP!
Most husbands would pay attention to what their wives were doing and try not to get on their bad side. Hiro wasn't like most husbands.
And that led to instances like this where he used the towel he grabbed as a whip and hit Karmi's backside.
On the one hand, it was hilarious.
On the other one, Karmi almost turned her head around entirely like an owl, her death glare as impressive as ever.
"Hiro?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
Karmi cracked her knuckles.
"Run."
Two days later...
"Mom! Frederick is hogging all of the spread!"
"Freida, he's a growing boy. And besides, we have plenty of food in the fridges."
"He's a college student and literally the same age I am. He doesn't need to grow any more. "
"Well, then maybe you need some more vegetables like him."
"Yeah, Cloudhead. If you actually used your brain, you'd come to that realization."
The college student whipped her puffy blonde hair out of her face. "Mio, don't you take my mom's side."
"I'm not. I take no one's side." The much-shorter Korean was circling her best friend on her grav wheels. "Circles don't have sides."
A hand came out of nowhere and yanked on her ear. She got pulled back towards the living room by someone who wasn't taking her teasing to heart.
"What the heck, Mom?" She wheeled around to face the newcomer, but was met by a devil stare from her mother.
"Mio Rosalina Tanaka-Reyes, I am operating on about five hours of sleep. I had to get up early this morning because someone decided to race around the house for literally no reason. I'm not in the mood. You are going to be nice to everyone here because it's the holidays and also if you don't I'm going to have your dad burn off your pigtails again."
Mio grabbed at her two stubs of black hair, the red tips poking through her fingers.
"What do you mean by 'again'?" a voice from the kitchen said.
"Shut up, Hiro." Go Go got up right into her daughter's face. "So do we have an understanding?"
Mio sighed loudly. "Yes, Mom."
"Good. Now as a sign of goodwill, I will let you open one present early-"
Mio zoomed right past her, quickly followed by everyone else in front of her.
"Why?" Go Go threw her hands up in the air. "Why did I say that?"
"I can say why, but I was told to shut up."
As she walked away to try to calm down the masses, Hiro took another sip of his hot chocolate. They were in the Frederickson lodge, a very extravagant getaway house that had room for everyone in their group and probably double that. The snow outside was at least a foot high, and they had already taken full advantage of it over the first couple days of their vacation.
And now he was watching in awe/humor/horror as his son's friends started opening things up.
"I said not everything!"
Hiro glanced next to him at Karmi, who was sitting down at the kitchen bar with her mug of tea. "How do we have the most behaved child here?"
"No idea."
"You have to forgive Freida, Hiro." Honey Lemon closed the fridge and set the second tray of appetizers on the table. "She's been in a bad mood. Frederick was teasing her the whole flight here; he seems to think she has a boyfriend."
"Oh really? Does she?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe I should go bother her about it."
Karmi winced. "Maybe not right now. I think she has Mio in a headlock."
"What?" The Latina turned around, and indeed her daughter had both Go Go's child and (for some reason) Fred under her arms. "Oh, dios mio. I'll be right back."
Honey Lemon went off to diffuse the situation, and Hiro took a mental headcount of everybody. He knew that Wasabi, Aspen, and Robbie were outside trying to make more snow (even though he was pretty sure that wasn't how ice and fire worked). Everyone else was in the living room.
"Karmi."
"Mm?"
"Where is Dash at?"
She pointed upwards with her finger, and Hiro followed its trajectory to the ceiling. Near the glass ceiling was a walkway connecting both sides of the giant house, and right in the middle of it was Dash, nervously standing near the railing.
"Oh, I know what he's doing."
"What?" Karmi asked.
As if on cue, the only door in his sight opened, and out popped the last member of the new team. Knowing enough about Ginger from her mom and dad, she took extra care in getting ready to be out among the common folk; her detailed braid of her normal dark bluish-black hair and her dyed aquamarine hair fell right past her waist. She was wearing a simple red sweater and black snow pants, the boots laced with fur on the top. She turned down the hallway to see her teammate standing there, now even more nervous.
Hiro could tell why. Ginger was the product of two very attractive humans.
One and a half?
His brain never really figured that part out.
There was enough noise going on with everyone at the Christmas tree that he couldn't hear what the two were saying, but it didn't take a robotics degree to know to figure it out. He saw Dash say a few words and hold out a small box, his cheeks red.
Ginger's eyes, bright as the ice outside, lit up even more. She opened up the box with a wide smile, taking the piece of jewelry out. Dash's mouth moved again and Ginger nodded, pushed her braid out of the way so that he could fasten it around her neck.
"Ever the gentlemen, Dash is."
"Shh."
She held up the orb on the necklace in her palm. Hiro knew from memory that there was a miniature dolphin inside with a solution that kept it from deteriorating, and that was her favorite animal. It was a very thoughtful gift, and judging from Ginger's expression, she was enjoying it very much. She concentrated and the orb glowed blue, causing the figurine to rotate around the orb.
"Uh oh."
"What?"
Karmi gestured up even higher. "We have a third player in this."
Hiro saw what she meant. To be fair, Honey Lemon had plastered mistletoe all over the house, and she never let a moment slip where she could give a kiss to someone: Fred, Hiro, a bemused and inebriated Go Go (he blamed the alcohol for the last one). But it didn't look like Dash had even seen it.
But Ginger did, because before Dash could react, Ginger had put both of her hands on his cheeks and pulled him close, locking their lips together.
"At least someone obeys the Laws of Mistletoe."
Karmi smacked him in the arm.
The entire kiss didn't even last two seconds, but as they pulled apart, Ginger gave him one last smile and a ruffle of his hair before heading off for the stairs out of sight. Dash?
Well, Dash just kind of stood there, eyes glazed over and a drunk smile on his face.
"Ginger was Dash's Secret Santa. Huh." Hiro brought the mug up to his lips. "Who would've thunk it?"
"I know that tone, Genius Boy. Did you do something when we all picked our people?"
"Of course not," he replied. "What kind of person do you think I am? Dash picked her name out of the box just like everyone else did with theirs. He was probably lucky with the odds."
Karmi relented at her husband's tone. "Oh. OK."
"...Now, I may have made the odds better by putting slips of paper with only Ginger's name in it."
"Hiro!"
"Before you get mad, he found a gift for her months ago and really wanted to give it to her, but didn't want to make a big fuss because he knew everyone else would tease him for it. So I tried to help him as best I could...discreetly."
"I guess I'll allow it," Karmi said. "But you're not worried about enabling him?"
"She's almost twenty-one. He's fourteen. Between being teammates, friends, and possibly being his TA for classes in the spring, it wouldn't work out. And they both know it. Besides, he'll find someone closer to his age."
"You know, you were fourteen when you fell in love with me."
Hiro turned his head to look at her. "That...that was different."
Now she had him on the ropes. Her mug wasn't big enough to hide her grin behind it. "And how was it different, Genius Boy?"
"Be...cause...um…"
Having to explain to Karmi the exact intricacies of teenage romance would have to wait another time, because at that moment, the front door burst open, where a giant pile of groceries entered.
"Hey, guys!" Hiro shouted to the crowd in the living room. "Can you come and give Aunt Cass a hand with everything?"
In no time at all, her arms were freed from their plastic prison, and the food was on the counter. The older Hamada rubbed her wrists as she closed the door behind her. "Thanks, everyone. I saw so many nice things down in the village that I had to get all of them."
"How many people do you plan on feeding?" Hiro asked as Aunt Cass started unpacking everything.
"Don't worry, Hiro. Worse comes to worse, we'll send everybody home with a goody bag or five."
As she took a look into the oven to check on the holiday meats, Dash came into the living room with his winter gear on. "Dad, we're going to go outside and sled for a little bit. I want to test out these new tech goggles that Aunt Peni gave me."
"OK, but don't do anything too fancy with them. Knowing her, she probably made it shoot lasers or something."
Dash immediately ran out the door.
"That wasn't an invitation to shoot lasers!"
"Did someone say lasers? I wanna see!" Mio clicked her heels together, and the maglev wheels snapped onto the her feet, turning into makeshift snow spikes. "Maybe Dad and Dash can have an explosion contest!"
"We are not having an explosion contest over the holidays!"
BOOM!
Apparently Robbie was all for it.
"Roberto!" Go Go slammed her winter hat over her head. "I'm going to kill you!"
Ginger, also now downstairs, leaned over to Aunt Cass as the Korean stomped out the door. "Do you need any help with the food? I can stay in here, if you want."
"Oh, I'm fine, dear. But thanks for asking. Dinner should be ready in a few hours, so work yourself up a good appetite."
She nodded and walked over to the door. "Hm. A lot of snow still around. Maybe..." She waved her hand around, and the snow melted into water, getting pushed out of the way. "I bet this will come in handy for the snowball fight later."
"You guys have fun," Freida said from the couch. "I'm going to relax in here for a bit. Maybe catch up on some-"
"No can do, kiddo!"
The blonde screamed as Fred came out from behind the couch, flexing his muscles. "Fredericksons always go where the action is, and the action is where the lasers are. Come on!" In one fell swoop, he threw Freida over her shoulder, ignoring the pounding on his back.
"Mom! A little help here!"
"Sorry, Freida."
She looked to see Honey Lemon was over Fred's other shoulder, shrugging. "Your father is in the festive mood. You're contractually required to be as well."
"But I'm not even dressed for outside."
On cue, a yellow winter hat got slapped over her head, pushing her long bangs over her eyes.
"There! Now you're ready!"
"You're not making Frederick come out!"
"He's doing important villainy research! Now, enough of being a grinch! To the lasers!"
Hiro could only chuckle as the three squeezed through the door and closed it behind them. It was good to know that Fred hadn't changed in his older age. Still young at heart. Still active as ever.
Speaking of people named Fred...
He glanced at the last Frederickson, who had been quietly reading in the corner since the chaos had ensued. His head was so far buried into the pages that his entire face was obscured. Just like always.
"You good over there, Frederick?"
"Yup." He didn't even move. "Thank you for the novels, Mr. H."
"I figured you'd like them. There's plenty more where they came from, if you're interested. But you don't want to go outside with everyone else?"
"Nah. It's cold."
"I bet your sister is enjoying herself outside," Karmi said.
"Probably not."
Out of the side of Hiro's eye, he saw a plume of fire, a water geyser, and a laser shoot into the sky, followed by the familiar scream of Freida.
"And you don't want to see that?"
Frederick finally perked up. Nothing got him more interested than the possibility of seeing his twin sister suffering misfortune, and Hiro was playing right into that.
"...Maybe."
"Then get out there, kiddo."
Five seconds later, Hiro, Karmi, and Aunt Cass found themselves alone in the house, enjoying the quiet. Aunt Cass shut the oven door, turning up the temperature a few degrees. "The turkey's coming along nicely. I hope that everything comes out OK."
"I'm sure everything will be excellent, Aunt Cass," Karmi said, shuffling in her seat. "You've never let us down before."
"I know, but...I really wish Bolton could have come with us. He'd make it all perfectly."
"Where is he, anyway?"
"Visiting his mother in England." Aunt Cass wiped her hands on a spare towel. "I told him I could come with him, but he didn't want to take me away from you guys. He said he'd try to stop by next week if he could, but he said something about one of his restaurants going through some tough times. Such is the life for someone like him, I guess."
"You mean your one true love?"
She blushed and turned away. "Hiro, Bolton is just a friend."
"Yeah, last Christmas I also invited my 'friend' to my house and spent the entire holiday with him alone without telling my nephew. Ironic."
Aunt Cass shot him a look, but it was one of someone that was about to throw some shade right back at him.
"Speaking of friends, Megan called me while I was down in the village."
Karmi grinned.
"She wanted to wish everybody a happy holiday, and that she was sorry for not being able to make it." Aunt Cass pulled the tray of Brussels sprouts out of the oven, poking at them with a steak knife. "It's Diego's first Christmas after retiring and between that and some story she's working on at the TV station, she wanted to spend it back in San Fransokyo. But she said she'll be here in spirit."
"Yeah. With her one true love."
Hiro glared at Karmi.
"What? I'm not allowed to have fun at your expense?"
"No. You forfeited that right when you married me."
"Darn." Karmi tucked her hair behind her ear. "I should've read the contract-Hng!"
She put a hand on her stomach, and Hiro automatically bent down to her, transitioning into parent mode. "You OK? Do you want to lie down? More tea?"
"No, I'm fine. I think she wants to go outside with everyone."
"Awww." Cass rubbed Karmi's back, trying to soothe her. "I'm sure she's ready to come into the world."
"Yeah, so am I."
Aunt Cass was done with the ovens, so she got her drink out of the fridge. "Have you guys thought of a name yet?"
"No, and it's really frustrating. Hiro and I have been going at this for months. We just can't come up with anything. We want it to be...perfect, you know?"
"Yes, I do. Maemi spent the first half of both Tadashi's and Hiro's pregnancies doing the exact same thing. Tommy wanted to name them early and be done with it; she shot that down rather quick."
"Wait, what were they going to name Hiro?"
"I think it was Ryan? Or Duncan? I don't remember the significance of it; I think he just really liked the names. Tadashi was going to be Thomas after himself. Thomas Hamada the Third."
"Third?"
"Because his grandfather's name is Tommy too," Aunt Cass explained. "But again, Maemi wasn't a fan of it. She wanted both of you to have your own unique identities."
"So she wouldn't have been a fan of the Frederickson naming nomenclature?"
"Nope. No offense to Frederick, but five Fred Fredericksons is too many."
Hiro had stayed quiet during the exchange, not because he wasn't interested in it, but because his brain had finally clicked something into place. It had been there the whole time. Right in front of him. How could he have been so dumb to not see it?
"Well, I'm sure you guys will think of a great name for her." Aunt Cass made a motion to check something in the oven again, but Hiro opened his mouth.
"...I just did."
Karmi and Aunt Cass stared at him. Hiro didn't immediately answer, instead wondering whether she was going to go along with it.
She being both of them.
"Spill it, Genius Boy. What is it?"
"...Her name will be Cassie."
His aunt's eyes were wide with surprise.
"Short for Cassandra. After you."
If he had looked to the side, he would have seen a slow grin break onto Karmi's face. But all of his attention was on the other person in the kitchen.
The one that was now, in a stark departure from normal, completely silent.
"You've been there for me my entire life. You've been here for all of us: Karmi, Dash, all of our friends and kids. I don't know where any of us would be if you hadn't been there supporting us. So, I think it would be fitting that we give that back...by naming our daughter after you."
Aunt Cass's lip started to quiver.
"Hiro, I think you broke her."
"Well, I didn't mean to. I was just asking-"
In the three seconds it took for Hiro and Karmi to almost argue, Aunt Cass had walked around the table, stopped right in front of Hiro, and hugged him as hard as she could.
Hiro wasn't a fourteen-year-old kid anymore, and he had gained a considerable amount of height since those days. That didn't matter though; he was still at the mercy of his aunt's bear hug.
His arms were pinned to his sides, and his ribs were starting to hurt, but he wasn't going to say anything. He was going to have to change his shirt due to all of the tears staining it.
"Thank you so much, you guys." One of her arms reached out to grab Karmi and pull her in. "That means the world to me."
Karmi winced, but with a happy smile. "I think Cassie approves. She just kicked again."
Aunt Cass let out a laugh as she detached from Hiro, rubbing Karmi's belly. "Oh, this is so exciting! I have to tell everyone! Keep an eye out on the turkey; I'll be right back!"
As she ran out the door to break the news to the crowd outside, Hiro heard Karmi clear her throat. He smoothed out his clothes and smiled at her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have sprung that on you."
"Hiro, I'm not mad. I think Cassie's a great name. It's just what I was imagining. It's perfect."
Her hand slid along the counter, taking his into it.
"Now we can focus on the important things. The future."
Hiro squeezed her hand.
"Our future," he said.
Karmi grinned, leaning in to kiss him.
BOOOM!
"Dash!"
"Sorry!"
Hiro sighed. It was never a dull moment with these guys around.
But they had a bright future ahead of them.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Now, I'm sure you have many questions right now. The main one is probably "Jason, where have you been for the past couple of months?"
And that is a very valid question.
I won't go into everything here, but the long story short is that between work, personal issues, and side things I just...really didn't have any drive to write. This same thing happened last year, and I don't think it's a coincidence. I need to learn to pace myself a little better.
But I couldn't let this dumpster fire of a year go by without making things a little more cheery for you guys. And with that...comes a little glimpse into the future for Hiro and his friends.
I can also imagine the other questions cropping up. I can answer a couple of them here:
One: Dash, Mio, Ginger, Frederick, and Freida are Hiro's, Go Go's, Wasabi's, and Fred & Honey Lemon's kids, respectively.
Two: the concept art from the movie is a good place to go if you want an idea of what Mio and Freida look like. For Ginger, I may have cheated with Nessa from Pokemon Sword/Shield. Dash is a rough copy of Hiro's Marvel counterpart (Hiro Takachiho). I'll have to come up with something distinctive for Frederick later down the road.
I tried to include as many people in here as possible without giving too much away for the stuff down the road, but there is one last question that I'm sure is being asked.
Where is Olivia?
Well...that will be addressed, hopefully, in the "not-so-distant" future.
In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy this story. May it give you a little cheer for the holidays.
Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.