Disclaimer: Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Time for another week of episodes, which means...
Disclaimer #2: You know what? We're not even going to talk about spoilers, because what else is there to say about it?
Chapter 6 – The Sass and the Curious: San Fransokyo Gift
"Aaaand that's the last one."
"Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I can feel my arms anymore."
"Oh, stop being a baby." Go Go reached up and lightly punched his shoulder. "We needed the extra help since the others were getting food for the move-in party."
"Wasn't she your roommate already?"
"Yes, but it was more of a last-minute fix to a solution." Go Go started to climb up the stairs. "This is an actual event." She turned at the top to face him. "You should be glad you're here; you get to meet everyone else."
"There's not going to be any awkward moments, are there?"
The Korean turned the corner and grinned. "I'll give it about five minutes once they get here."
The gang had completed moving all of Honey Lemon's stuff back into her apartment...almost. Since they wanted to make it an actual party and not one just filled with stickers, Hiro, Wasabi, Fred, Baymax, and Honey Lemon had broken away to go grab some grub. Go Go wanted to make sure everything was neat and orderly before they came back, so she stayed behind.
And then she forgot that there were a few boxes left in the storage unit Honey Lemon was using as an intermediary.
So she called in a favor.
"Your apartment's...a lot higher up...than you described."
"You're almost here; calm down."
He set the box down next to the door with the others, stretching his arms out. Go Go turned the knob on the door as he looked back at him. "By the way, thanks for the help-"
"Robbie!"
A yellow-clothed girl zoomed across the apartment, past Go Go, and threw her arms around him, almost causing him to fall back down the steps.
"Huh." Go Go looked down at her phone. "Ten seconds. That's gotta be a record."
"Umm..." Robbie slowly patted her head, not sure what to do. "You must be Honey Lemon."
"I'm so glad you're here! I didn't know you were coming!"
"Well, I was around town, and Go Go called me to ask for some help, and I wasn't busy."
"Eeeeee!" The Latina squealed. "That's so great! Come in, come in!"
"I thought you went with the others, Honey Lemon," Go Go asked as they strolled in.
"Oh, I did, but then I wanted to get my computer set up and feed my butterflies and get some more stickers printed out and-"
Go Go and Robbie exchanged a glance as she continued on her list of things she had wanted to do. "Is...she always like this?"
"Yes." Go Go popped a bubble in her mouth. "Get used to it."
A few minutes later, the cargo were inside, and Honey Lemon went off to put the rest of her butterflies in her aviary ("Wait, that's what was in those boxes?"). Go Go opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one of them to Robbie.
"So this is the lair of the famous Go Go," he said, taking a swig and looking around. "Not bad. Much cozier than my place, I'll tell you that."
"It's not much, but it's enough."
"Are you kidding? It's awesome!" Robbie started wildly gesturing towards random places around him. "You have things like...refrigeration and...running water...and your own bathroom!"
"...Do you live in a hole or something?"
"Nah, a hole would be better." He sat down at the table. "I got a friend who lets me crash in a room above his garage. All I need is a bed and a bike."
Go Go shook her head. "As well as several other things to sustain a normal life, but sure."
"Hey, what's that?"
She looked on as Robbie pointed to one of her suit's discs, laying on the bookshelf. "You play in the Olympics or something?"
"No," she said, somewhat panicked. She thought she had put all of them away in her Skymax. "It's...part of my pedal bike. Magnetic wheels. Helps with wind resistance."
"You lost me on 'pedal bike'." Robbie walked over and grabbed it, twirling it between his palms. "But it looks cool. Hey! I bet if you throw it at someone, it could cause some real damage."
Go Go heard the small giggle from behind her, no doubt Honey Lemon's re-entry to the conversation. "If only you knew..." she muttered.
"Hey, heads up!"
She looked up and ducked out the way just in time as the disc that Robbie threw pinballed around the apartment, knocking over vases, disheveling books, and clanking off Honey Lemon's alarm clock before...
"Hey guys, we're back!"
Lodging itself right next to Wasabi's face as he entered the apartment.
"Ummm..." He turned toward the disc, his head shaking. "Anyone want to tell me why I almost got decapitated?"
"Because boys and their toys, that's why."
"Hey, it's your toy-Ugh!"
Go Go had shoved him in his side, cutting him off. Turning back toward the door, she waved her hand in his direction. "Robbie, this is everyone. Everyone...this is Robbie."
"Oh oh oh! I get to meet the new person first!"
Wasabi barreled into the room as Fred, filled to the brim with bags of fast food, came in right after him. In one fell swoop, he threw the bags into the air, all of them landing neatly on the table.
"Hey, New Guy! I'm Fred, also known as Frederick, Freddie, Freddy-boy, the Fredmeister, and by Go Go, Knucklehead! Secret handshake time!"
Fred grabbed Robbie's hand and started a series of intricate movements and gestures. Honey Lemon started to giggle, but Go Go was busy experimenting with how far she could bury her face into her palm.
"Freddie..." Honey Lemon said gently. "I think it's a little early for that."
Fred withdrew his hand. "You're right. Right now, it's food time! We'll work on it later, buddy!" He slapped Robbie's shoulder and walked off, leaving the two in a state of disbelief.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to do that." Wasabi stepped forward, offering his hand. "Wasabi."
"Nice to meet you," Robbie replied, glad to have a normal handshake. "Like the hair, by the way."
"Thanks! I can't pull off your style, though." He pointed to the stripe on his head. "I'd look like a chess board."
Wasabi walked off, leaving only one person left.
"Awww, and then there's this little guy! What's your name?" Robbie bent down and started rubbing the teen's head, much to his annoyance. "Go Go, you didn't tell me you had a little brother!"
"I don't." She smiled at his change of expression. "Robbie, this is Hiro. He goes to the same school as we do. And if you're not nice to him..."
The crackle got his full attention. He turned his head to see her gloves had changed to her Weapon Mode, no longer fingerless and electricity jumping between her separated fingers.
"...You have to deal with me."
"And," Hiro spoke up, bringing a box around to the front, "You're not going to get the pair of gloves that Go Go asked me to make for you."
"Ooohh! Gimmegimmegimme!"
Hiro sighed as the box was plucked from his hands. "Yeah, I'm the little guy."
The leather gloves were already on his hands as Robbie inspected them. Just like Go Go's, the circuitry crawled down each finger until stopping at the circle on the back. It started glowing white as the leather starting emitting small bursts of flame from the fingertips on his left hand.
"Microtorches," Hiro said to a wide-eyed Go Go. "Embedded into the fingers for precision. The material on the inside is carbonized fiber welding, with just a little semi-liquid coolant between the inner and outer layers." Seeing her shocked face, he rolled his eyes. "Hey, you were the one who gave me the blueprint. I just made it."
"...I literally have no idea what you just said, but this is freakin' sweet!" His non-lit hand came back down on Hiro's head, ruffling his hair. "Thanks, kiddo!"
The teen genius smirked. "You may want to get rid of that fire somehow..."
"What?"
"...Because once generated, you'll need to discard the excess heat somehow."
"What?" Robbie repeated, the flames now billowing into a ball of fire. "Where do I put it?"
"I don't know!" Go Go yelled. "Throw it outside or something!"
He scooted over to the window, rearing back and tossing the fireball down the street.
"There." Robbie ducked back into the room, clapping his hands together. "No problem."
"My cabbages!" a voice shouted from outside.
He slammed the window down and grinned, trying to ignore the five sets of eyes staring at him. "Nooo problem."
"Baymax, you finally made it!"
Robbie turned to see what appeared to be a giant marshmallow walk into the room. The small set of eyes on his tiny head scanned the room. "I am not good with stairs. I was also distracted by an expulsion of heat that came down the street. Tell me...are you cooking something?"
"This..." Go Go pushed Robbie towards the robot. "Is the last member of our group: Baymax. He's a-"
"I am a personal healthcare companion. Allow me to scan you."
Baymax's eyes glowed blue for a few moments before returning to their normal color. "You are a healthy individual, with an appropriate weight compared to your height. The follicles on your head also appear to be different shades of color."
"Yeah, about that..." Fred had clearly not waited for everyone before starting to dig into the food in front of him. "What's with the stripe? Did you cast a dark magic spell and suffer the evil consequences?"
Before Robbie could respond, Go Go put her hand over his mouth. "Don't answer that."
Several tacos, burgers, stickers, and hours later...
"So you mean to tell me that they have this lizard...thing..."
"Yeah."
"And they have to get it across the border...even though once they get over the border, one of them is still going to be hunted."
"Yup."
"That makes no sense."
Go Go chuckled. "Well, too bad, we've already watched four episodes; I'm not explaining it to you again."
Nighttime had fallen, and the party was over, at least the celebration part. Fred, Wasabi, Hiro, and Baymax had done their part and taken the bags of junk food (of which there was none left) away themselves, leaving only a giant pile of stickers behind. Go Go had gotten her laptop and tried to introduce him to some new show she was watching, but to no avail. The only other occupant in the apartment was Honey Lemon.
A very...loud Honey Lemon.
"Well, I didn't hear your explanation," Robbie said, plugging his ears, "Because your friend turned into a freight train."
"Here." Go Go walked over to her roommate, currently on her bed and in her pajamas. She pinched her nose and tipped her mouth shut. The room grew much quieter after that.
"Good thing that worked. I don't have any more earplugs."
Robbie yawned as he grabbed his jacket off of the chair. "I gotta get going, anyway. My supervisor is going to kill me if I don't show up tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Let's just say that I was suppose to show up today, and I bailed on him."
"Wait." Go Go stopped him. "So when I called you earlier today...you were already on your way up here, weren't you?"
"Guilty as charged." He threw his arm into the sleeve of his jacket. "Besides, I'd rather be here than listen to him yap about whatever comes to his mind for eight hours a day."
"You'd rather have Fred talk your ear off?"
"Hey, he's pretty cool," he retorted. "He's also...weird, but he's cool. Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Hiro...they're all awesome. Heck, even Baymax. Wish I had a robot to talk to."
Robbie put his hands in his pockets, only for a confused look to appear on his face. "What the-" He brought them out, a cascade of stickers falling to the ground.
"That's impressive."
"Ha ha." He took a couple off of the pile and stuffed them back into his jacket. "I'm taking a few of these. Don't judge me."
"I'm not," Go Go said. "Aloud."
Robbie chuckled. For a moment, he had his hand on the door, Go Go leaning against the frame. They stood staring at each other before he spoke up again.
"It was good to see you again, Go Go." Robbie drummed his fingers on the knob. "I...wasn't sure whether you wanted to see me anymore after-"
"Don't." The Korean shook her head at him. "We said we weren't going to talk about that ever again."
He held up two off his fingers, lightly placing something flat on Go Go's forehead. "Well...you are the boss."
"...What did you just put on my head?"
Robbie opened the door and stepped through. Turning around, he wiggled all of his fingers in front of his face. "Daaark maaaagic." Seeing her shake her head in mock disdain, he smiled at her. "I'll text you when I get back home. Good night."
"Night."
The door closed, and Go Go could hear his steps grow fainter and fainter through the wall. She slowly grabbed the sticker off of her forehead and examined it.
It was a heart.
And it was turning red.
She glanced up at the armor disc, still lodged into the wall across from her.
"...Damn it, Tanaka."
Go Go sprung forward, grabbed the disc, and threw the door open, taking the stairs three at a time.
He was already at his bike. It was surprising how much ground that boy could cover without the burden of boxes in his hands.
"Robbie!"
Her shout caused him to stop mid-mount, his head now turned to face her. "What's wrong?"
Slightly out of breath, Go Go had to take a moment to regain her bearings. "You can't leave."
"What?"
"You can't leave...because..." She searched her brain to try to think of something. "Hiro messed with your bike."
Robbie was amused now. "That kid knows his way around a bike? I'm shocked."
"Yeah, totally. Remember when he ducked away after Fred ate, like, his fifteenth taco? Yeah, totally came down here and messed it all up."
"Go Go...
"And also..." She tapped the metal disc against his tailpipe slightly, putting a small dent in it. "Look, your bike's damaged. It's not in any condition to ride. You might as well just leave it here and get it fixed in the morning."
Robbie crossed his arms in front of his body. "You're being weird. It...almost sounds like you want me to stay."
"No! It's not that I want you to stay."
He raised his eyebrow at her.
"It's just..."
Go Go tucked her bang out of her eyes, not looking at him.
"...I don't want you...to leave."
Robbie's eyes widened.
"Look, it's almost midnight. I would feel bad if something happened on your way back. Just-"
She felt the sleeves of his leather jacket rub against the back of her neck as he pulled her into his body.
"Didn't know you cared, Leiko."
It was a good thing it was dark, and her face was muffled by his chest, because her cheeks were definitely on fire now.
"Would you just take the boy inside already? You'll catch your death of cold!"
Go Go didn't even bother to look up at her neighbor in the window. "Thank you for your unwanted opinion, Mrs. Collins!"
"Just looking out for you, dearie!"
"Yeah." She dug her forehead deeper into Robbie's body. "You'll need to look out in a second."
The two separated as he reached into his seat, pulling out a green cylindrical bag. "Gramps always told me to carry an emergency go bag. Never thought I'd use it for this of all things."
"You never imagined a situation where you'd be staying over at the apartment of a girl you've barely known for a month?"
"I never thought I'd be over at someone's apartment. Let alone a girl's."
The two arrived back at her door. Go Go reached for the knob…
"You know, I like this side of you."
The hand stopped an inch away.
"I get the feeling it doesn't come out that much."
"Nah, not really." She looked back over her shoulder. "I'm trying, though. You can blame Honey Lemon for that."
Robbie smiled down at her. "I feel like I'm going to blame her for a lot of things." He paused, his eyes up in the air. "So, where am I sleeping tonight? I didn't see another bed in there. Or even a couch."
"Well, there's two beds." Go Go leaned back against the door. "Honey Lemon's...and mine."
"...Oh."
"What's the matter?" She crossed her arms, smirking at him. "The big bad Roberto Reyes is afraid of a little ol' girl like me?"
"I am afraid of you. But hey." Robbie waved his arm forward dramatically. "You're the boss."
Two people walked back through the apartment door.
Two pairs of shoes hit the hardwood floor, pushed to the side to avoid any late night disaster.
Two sets of feet walked up the creaky stairs and shuffled around the upstairs level.
Two minutes later, the springs on the bed squeaked as two bodies came together, their breathing shallow and soft as their dreams began to take over.
And the two eyes of Honey Lemon were glistening with happiness, her smile growing two sizes larger as she drifted back to sleep.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: And what was going to be a simple idea about Go Go and Honey Lemon possibly having to get rid of the cats I gave them all the way back in Clean-Up became something entirely different...and (to be quiet honest) better.
For those of you who may be a little lost about Mr. Robbie Reyes, go read Chapter 1 of Part-Time where he gets introduced. In the Marvel comics, he's the All-New Ghost Rider. In my BH6 verse, he's Go Go's potential love interest. In both, he likes to punch things and get into trouble.
I really like Robbie as a character in my stories. He serves as a nice personality that contrasts well with the others in the group, and I hope that I can bring him around for some other fics that I have in the planning process. Including one where-
Well...you'll find out.
Also, you can tell I've been watching The Dragon Prince, haven't you?
And before any smart aleck asks the question that I know someone probably will...
No.
They didn't.
Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow.