Superflu!

It was Friday, the day of the big Japanese test that GoGo had been pressuring him about. Of course, with something that important, Hiro wasn't going to skip going to the Kyoto Kafé for lunch, to review with her one last time. He still felt tired, and he developed this killer cough, but he figured he could at least tough it out for this. Since he actually stayed home all day yesterday, this was the first time he saw GoGo since Wednesday.

Hiro had set out his thermos with soup and bento box when GoGo finally arrived. She dropped into the bench seat across from him, sniffling and coughing as she did. She also had on her thick fleece jacket even though the spring weather had been nice for that day.

Already he could tell she must not be feeling very well. Her mannerisms seemed a little more annoyed, and she hadn't said anything yet.

"Konnichiwa?" He dared to be first to say something.

"I hate you," GoGo grumbled, pushing her purple bangs out of her eyes. Then she pulled out a tissue to blow her nose.

"Doe-itashi-mashite," Hiro let her insult go over his head. Even more, he challenged himself to see how far he could get by speaking only in Japanese, if not just to annoy her.

She clicked her tongue, and set out her insulated coffee thermos and a shorter one for soup. "I never get sick! But when I do, it's on a day with two tests and a report due."

"Gomen-nasai—" he attempted to offer an apology about that, but was then hit with a fit of coughing that otherwise rendered him speechless.

"Sure, you are," GoGo sniffled, acting as though she had no concern for his plight. In turn, she popped the lid off her thermos to take a drink.

Hiro cleared his throat after chugging some water in an attempt to regain his composure. Once he was certain the coughing had stopped, he finally took the lid off his lunch box, something Aunt Cass made for him this time. It had a filled rice ball with bonito seasoning, cooked seasoned spinach, and a rolled egg omelet in tamagoyaki style.

GoGo managed a smile now after seeing his lunch, as it really wasn't his usual fare. "Aunt Cass taking pity on you?"

"Hai, watashi no oba ga aru…" Hiro also smiled, awkwardly. He tried to clear his throat again because his voice was cracking. But he finally was at a loss for the right words in Japanese to go any further. "At least, rice porridge ja nai yo... matawa soba noodles."

Much to his relief, the thermos had miso soup, with the seaweed and tofu cubes, and not more of that porridge. However, it was the whiff of ginger that had made him grimace. "Are you drinking that ginger tea?"

"Hai. So desu neh." GoGo replied, with much assurance. Even though the slightest hint of amusement played at the corners of her mouth, her eyes were still very serious.

Hiro had to keep himself from frowning in disgust. He didn't want to look like a wuss, but the smell of the ginger had made him loose his appetite. Almost. He drank the soup from his thermos instead, his subtle way of hiding his nose from the smell of her tea.

The Korean girl had spun the top off her two part thermos. Inside the lid on top was a smaller container for rice, and the larger bottom part held the soup. Then she poured some of the fragrant red soup into the larger lid to eat.

Hiro's curiosity got the better of him, as it wasn't something he had seen her eat before. "Nan da?"

"Kimchi-guk," she said, in between bites of rice and soup.

"Kimchi?"

"Guk," she added, stressing the pronunciation of the last word.

"Kimchi-guk?" He looked at the soup again, recognizing the fermented cabbage pieces in with chunks of tofu and green onion in a spicy, red broth. Its strong fragrance took over the smell of the tea. It wasn't a bad smell, just one heavy with fermented cabbage, garlic, and spice.

"Ne," GoGo turned the table on him and spoke all in Korean now, as she pushed it over. "Moguh-seyo. Guhn-gahng seegeem-nida."

The boy genius could only assume that she was challenging him to eat some. He broke apart his wooden chopsticks to try a piece of the cabbage, even though his first inclination was to go for the tofu. But again, he didn't want her to think he was a wimp. Much to his surprise, the cabbage was actually a good, spicy, salty flavor. And sour. Not as sour as a Japanese pickled plum, but a tangy, spicy, sour.

GoGo must have noticed his 'oh wow' expression too. "Mashi-tae?" She asked in Korean to confirm this.

"Not bad... If that's what you are asking," Hiro shrugged.

"I normally don't bring kimchi, cause I don't want to stink up the place. But it is good for colds... Lots of garlic and onions, clears the sinuses, and the good bacteria in kimchi helps with digestion." GoGo explained a little more, in English.

"You made it?"

"Yeah, last night," she took another bite of rice. "The soup is pretty easy to make, as long as I have the kimchi." She had noticed he was still eyeing her bowl while she paused to blow her nose.

"You can eat the rest, if you like it," GoGo pushed the thermos bowl in front of him. "Might help your cough too."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, go ahead," GoGo looked at him, making brief eye contact. "I'm not that hungry to eat all of it."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Hiro nodded, understanding that feeling. It didn't bother him though that she had already eaten from the soup, since it was his flu bug that made her sick. He picked up the bowl to drink the spicy broth, just because he forgot his spoon.

"Ready for the test this afternoon?"

"Hai," Hiro still had his focus on eating a little more. "Are you going to be okay enough for it?"

"I don't really have a choice... If I do a make-up, she'll take 10% off."

"Really?" He looked at her then.

She nodded, her head propped up by her hand. "It's like she's got something against me 'cause I'm Korean."

Hiro shook his head. He had heard her tell him about the bad history between Korea and Japan a couple times before. The only reason she was taking this class for her language requirement was because the other language classes were at the times of her required classes. But when GoGo learned he also signed up for it, she decided to not drop it for a better class next semester.

"At least I think it's cool you're Korean," Hiro tried to make her feel better, even though he was only half Japanese and acted more like an American.

The first part of the class was the oral part of the exam. The elderly Japanese professor had broken the class into five groups, and with the help of her two intern assistants, they tested the students ability to converse a given scenario fluently in Japanese. With the exception of Hiro needing a cough drop, or three, to stop from coughing so much, it seemed to have gone well.

The latter half of the class was the written portion. The professor did advise them that once they finished their work, they could leave.

The packet was five pages long, and covered a variety of alphabet and reading comprehension topics. None the less, Hiro noticed GoGo was one of the few who had finished first. That made him a little jealous. But the hasty way she packed her backpack, and then quickly placed the test on the front desk before dashing through the door made him think otherwise.

Hiro worked fast now to finish the last page of his test, and then picked up his backpack and skateboard to leave after handing over his exam.

Out in the hall, he didn't see GoGo anywhere, which further nagged at his suspicions. Hiro walked towards the direction of the woman's bathroom at one end of the hall. He paused outside to wait, a little unsure on what to do next. But then the door opened as the girl in front was making a face, telling her friend about how gross it was listening to someone throwing up inside the bathroom.

Bingo. Hiro quickly turned away from the door, acting as though he had stopped there to get something from his backpack so the girls didn't think he was spying. Once they were out of earshot, he turned back toward the door. He hesitated, wondering briefly if there was anyone else inside. Or, maybe he could just wait for her there, to be safe.

His better judgment lost, however, because his gut instinct told him it could be more valiant to go inside and actually check on her. Hiro pushed the door open a few inches, to shout GoGo's name. He did see her backpack against the wall, outside of the stalls, reassuring him that his girlfriend was inside. "Hey, are you okay?"

Stupid question. Of course, she's not okay!

"Hiro.. I am going to KILL you..." She managed to holler back.

Regardless of her threat, he dared to go all the way inside the bathroom, "You'll have to catch me first," Hiro taunted. Yep, an equally stupid response he was going to regret later. Unless, I catch her instead.

The sound of the toilet flushing was all he heard to that, however. He dropped his stuff by hers and walked to the first stall, pushing the unlocked door open.

GoGo turned to face him, and Hiro stepped forward to catch her in an embrace. She had stiffened against his hug at first, but then relaxed to bring her arms up around him as well.

"I'm sorry... I really am," Hiro's voice was as sincere as possible this time, whispering the words while his face remained pressed against her chest.

GoGo broke away to level with him. He could see despite the intensity in her eyes, she was starting to work through his apology.

"Just go," she now pushed the boy back before grabbing the front of his shirt to pull him with her. But GoGo stopped first at the sinks to quickly wash her face and rinse out her mouth with water. Not really too sure on what he should do, Hiro waited there for her to finish.

"Seriously Hiro... get outta here before someone comes in." She grumbled while grabbing her backpack and pushing him through the door ahead of her.

Once out in the hallway, Hiro shouldered his backpack and skateboard, and hopped a step to keep in pace with her. "Are you going to be okay?"

She shook her head no. "Need to go back to the lab to get my bike."

"You're going to ride your bike home, like this...?" He immediately questioned her intentions, as they walked down the stairs to leave the building.

"What other choice do I have?"

"Can't ask for a ride from the others?" Again, he secretly hated how long of a wait turning sixteen would be, when he could get his driver's license.

"There's no way Wasabi is going to take me anywhere like this. Honey's out of town, and Fred's still sick." They now walked along the sidewalk toward the Ito Ishioka Lab about a block or so away.

"The bus...?" He tried his next idea, despite its lameness.

"No," GoGo hiccuped.

A second or two had passed when Hiro noticed she wasn't beside him anymore, but instead kneeling down by the bushes, puking into them.

And that's probably why... He thought to himself. Scratching his head, he waited awkwardly on the sidewalk until she stopped that.

"Sorry," Hiro approached her to offer a hand when she rocked back on her heels.

"Will you stop apologizing..." she groaned as he pulled her up.

Hiro had to bite his lip, just to stop himself from saying sorry about saying sorry.

The rest of the way to the lab was fortunately uneventful, as he was consumed with thinking over more favorable strategies to help GoGo get home.

Once inside the lab building, Hiro thought to stop by the vending machine lounge to get a bottle of a sports drink and a couple waters. She had already gone ahead to their lab area, with the understanding to wait there until he figured something out. When he walked in the lab, he saw that Wasabi was also there. GoGo had sat down on the old armchair, leaning back with her head against the cushioning.

"Hey Wasabi," Hiro greeted, walking in his direction.

"Hey, good to see ya," Wasabi looked up from his work. "Whoa, whoa... Stop right there. Germ free zone begins here." He warned again, pointing to the newly taped line on the floor.

"Right," Hiro scoffed at his silly request, because there really was nothing keeping the germs in the air away even though he himself stayed out. And GoGo was right. Hiro decided he wasn't going to get anywhere with Wasabi giving them a ride today. Plan B then, calling a taxi.

"Uhm, Wasabi? Do you happen to have any buckets, or 3 to 5 gallon containers, that you're going to throw out?" Hiro paused to ask him.

"What for...?" Wasabi gave him a concerned look, now also putting on a face mask, like the kind a surgeon wears.

"GoGo is, um... sick," he said, glancing behind him towards her on the easy chair. As the reality seemed to hit home for Wasabi, Hiro really was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Okay..." Yup, it didn't take him long to figure out the necessity for a bucket.

"It's for the ride home, in the taxi," Hiro quickly added once he noticed Wasabi's extreme look of disdain.

"Yeah... well," the physics tech pointed over to Honey Lemon's area. "Honey might have some empties. Just make sure they don't have any chemical residue left in them."

"Perfect, yeah. Thanks," he raised an eyebrow briefly upon imagining the worse case scenario.

After finding something suitable for him to use and then picking up something to drink, Hiro headed back over to his sick girlfriend.

"Hey," Hiro leaned on the armrest to get GoGo's attention. She opened her eyes and turned her head in his direction. "I'm going to call a taxi-cab, okay?" he explained, then gave her a bottle of the blue sports drink. "Here, just don't drink it all at once… Um, do you need any medicine?"

"Probably," GoGo sat up to take the bottle from him.

"I'll be back with Baymax then. He's got something to help," Hiro stood up, thumbing back in the direction he would go for his upstairs lab.

"Yey," she responded sarcastically, as she cracked open the tight seal on the cap to drink from it.

Hiro also grabbed his small tablet to access a public transport app in order to page a taxi. He did this while making his way up to his lab. The wait wasn't going to be too long, fortunately.

Hiro sat with GoGo and her bike, a bucket, two backpacks, and Baymax stowed in his travel case, on a bench by a shuttle stop that car drivers could also pick-up and drop-off. He thought it looked like they were leaving town with all the stuff they had.

"Where do you live again?" Hiro finally asked. She had managed to avoid that question when he texted her earlier. Her claim then was that she was going to be fine.

"Closer towards downtown, near the westside," GoGo started. She didn't say much more as the taxi had pulled up.

Of course, rather than the van Hiro had hoped for, all they got was a regular taxi cab. The cab didn't have a bike rack either, so there was some discussion on how to put GoGo's bike in the truck without scratching the paint on it.

The driver practically came off as a royal jerk to boot. He actually asked if GoGo was drunk.

"Yeah," Hiro played along with his assery as they finally got inside with their backpacks. He squeezed the Baymax suitcase in between the seats, straddling his legs around it. "Which is why I'm her designated driver!"

The driver looked back at Hiro for a couple long seconds in disbelief, before facing forward to start the cab. "Whatever. Just to let you know, if your sister throws up in the taxi, the rate is double."

Unbelievable. He reluctantly let that slide for more important matters. It wasn't the first time GoGo was mistaken for his sister though. "That's what the bucket is for."

"Look, I'll still have to smell it for the rest of the trip, okay, kid?" he countered.

Hiro sat back with crossed arms. He fortunately did have the money, but he was hoping to save it for a new top-of-the-line cell phone that Aunt Cass promised she would activate on his fifteenth birthday.

"He's hopeless... let it go," GoGo sighed, looking at Hiro. That wasn't like her, but maybe it was out of worry that the cab driver would charge them triple if they pushed enough of the wrong buttons.

"Hey, where am I taking you?" The cabbie called back.

"Toward downtown, at the intersection of 15th and Temple," GoGo answered weakly.

The driver grunted, before accelerating roughly into traffic.

"I hope he catches the flu from us," Hiro whispered to her, so that the driver wouldn't hear.

She just shook her head, placing her fingertips and thumb on her brow and closed her eyes to block out more of the distractions.

The street names sounded familiar, and pretty soon the landmarks going out toward their destination did too. It was also close to the bad parts of town. Did GoGo live in the same area where they had the bot fights? He wondered if that was why she never said anything about where she lived before, to him or any of them. Hiro had realized the error of his ways, so her secrecy wasn't necessary now. He also doubted the fights were still going on there, but he did know that Yama's gang was up to no good again.

Gradually, Hiro became aware of GoGo making more audible gulping and deep breathing efforts. He glanced at her, quickly guessing that she was feeling sick again, and was trying to keep it down.

Furthermore concerned about her plight, Hiro called up to the cabbie. "Hey, how much further do we have?"

"Welp, depending on the number of stop lights that I hafta wait for... A little under five minutes," he responded, accelerating a little too fast through a left turn, causing Hiro to be thrown back against his seat.

Straightening up, the teen muttered a few choice words under his breath. GoGo finally gave up the fight, and lifted the bucket to spew into it quite audibly.

Hiro grimaced, suddenly feeling empathy pains from listening to GoGo puke. The cabbie actually had the nerve to laugh at them too. He wasn't joking about the smell either, and Hiro was thankful the cabbie opened up a couple windows. Of course, GoGo just had to drink the whole bottle of the sports drink before they left.

His nauseated thoughts were interrupted with a distinct unlatching and soft beeping coming from the red case down by his legs. "Oh, no... Baymax, no," Hiro gasped. Not only was there no room in the back seat for a fully inflated Baymax, but his robot was also firmly wedged in a place that prevented him from inflating further. "Hiro Hamada override!"

"Seriously?" GoGo looked over at him, all things despite.

"Yeah... He responds to puking," he quickly muttered. The repeated attempt for the case to open against the front passenger car seat cycled again, ignoring his command. Hiro struggled harder to clear his head so he could remember what the exact words were, "Hiro Hamada requesting override: I am satisfied with my care!"

The beeping stopped and a deflating sound was heard as the case closed up again. "Thank you," Hiro breathed. He made a clear mental note to add a lockdown traveling feature on Baymax to keep that from happening again. It was a good thing he didn't put the case in the trunk now.

Except that GoGo threw up again, otherwise reactivating Baymax once more.

Hiro groaned. This was going to be the longest five minutes of his life. The butterflies in his stomach were beginning to get restless again too. "Hiro Hamada requesting override: I am satisfied with my care," he repeated himself, glaring once at the stupid cabbie, who just kept laughing.

GoGo placed the bucket on the floor between her feet. She held her head in her hands, trying to regain her composure.

Hiro put his arm across her shoulders, patting her back, before leaning in to ask a question. The concern was also more of a need to put his mind on something else besides her illness. "What's your exact address? Just so I can tell him."

"126 on 3rd Avenue," she whispered, "Apartment's there... Hana Towers."

"Okay," he nodded, before clearing his throat.

"Can you take us to the Hana Towers? Please?" Hiro asked the driver firmly.

"Certainly," he nodded.

Fortunately, it was the next turn and the taxi stopped in front of a dimly lit block building. Hiro gave him two twenty dollar bills and then proceeded to take out Baymax and the Bucket of Blue Barf, before helping out GoGo.

After he got everything out of the taxi cab, Hiro quickly dumped the contents of the bucket down the storm drain just because it was grossing him out.

He figured he could take her bike up after hooking his backpack on the handlebars, then shouldered Baymax by the shoulder straps on the case.

"You gonna be okay?" Hiro asked her again, lifting the maglev bike up the stairs to the entrance.

"Better give me the bucket," she said, lifting it off her handlebars.

GoGo held the door open while he wheeled everything inside. "Which floor?" He asked when they reached the elevator. His personal opinion of the place hardly looked like it was number one, or resembling a pretty flower. The elevator was dingy, and the numbers on the buttons were nearly worn off.

"Eighth floor," GoGo told him again, reaching over to punch the button she knew as eight, from doing so many times before. He nodded, all the while fighting off another wave of his own nausea as the elevator lurched upward towards their destination.

As soon as they made it inside her small apartment, GoGo dropped her backpack and walked out of her shoes in a beeline towards her bathroom.

Hiro took his stuff off her bike and propped the maglev model against the wall by the door, then turned on the lights. He slung his Baymax case to the floor and set it upright, taking in another deep breath. All this worry about GoGo puking had left him feeling so nauseated and rattled. "Okay... Baymax, I need your help."

He stepped back, then remembered to take his shoes off too while waiting for the healthcare robot to inflate. These apartments were actually fashioned after the traditional Japanese ones. The main floor was a step up from the entry floor, and covered with a tatami mat. She also had a couple ornate rugs covering the mats, probably to keep them clean.

The studio apartment was small, and hardly had many furnishings in the main living room. The interior of her place also looked much nicer than the outside hallways did. There was a small kitchen to the left side, and a sliding paper screen separating the bedroom area in the back from the living area in the front. Despite the Japanese-style of the room, he noticed a few Korean folk art decorations and a scroll with Korean characters hanging on the wall, along with a couple triathlon posters.

"Hiro, how may I help you? Hiro?" Baymax stood closer to him, attempting to grab his attention.

He promptly snapped his focus back onto Baymax. "It's GoGo. She's puking again... Probably because she drank too much Zilla-ade," Hiro explained while pointing to the bathroom. "Can you help her?"

"Yes, it is best to sip one tablespoon of water, or eat an ice cube-"

"Yeah, but-"

"If vomiting has stopped after 10-15 minutes-" Baymax proceeded to explain.

"I know that-"

"Then wait 30 minutes, and if no vomiting, give more ice cubes or water-" Hiro finally stopped him with his now apparent frustration.

"Yes, I know, Baymax. But it's not that," Hiro tried stressing the point, gesturing to the bathroom with his hands, "I just... Can you check on her?"

"Do you not prefer to be with GoGo instead?" Baymax slightly tilted his head.

"Yeah, but... it's just that right now, seeing her throw up makes me want to throw up... It's an empathy thing," he explained, almost whispering.

"Oh, okay... I understand," Baymax said and then turned toward where the bathroom was before walking that way.

"I'll get the water," Hiro went back to his backpack to pull out the bottle of water he got. But since Baymax was going on about ice cubes, he decided to get those too… as soon as he found a cup or something to put it in. To some relief, he became aware of GoGo brushing her teeth, and otherwise giving Baymax some sass about his advice.

"What you can also do is tell Hiro to 'Woman up.' He'll know what that means." GoGo told Baymax while she rinsed off her toothbrush.

"Or not... Cause I heard that," Hiro walked up to one side of Baymax by the bathroom door.

"Woman up?" Baymax repeated, now looking at Hiro. "You are an adolescent male going through puberty."

Mental facepalm. Well, she must be feeling a little better if she's playing the metaphor game on Baymax again.

"Excuse me, boys," GoGo gestured to slip out of the bathroom to go into her bedroom. The paper door slid shut behind her.

"Another figure of speech," Hiro looked a little exasperated, still holding the mug of ice and water bottle. "I'll explain later."

Baymax didn't respond, as he probably was still filing that one away in his processor.

Hiro sighed, briefly wondering what to do next while waiting. He sat down on the floor and set down the water and the mug. It was very likely GoGo was changing her clothes.

Baymax apparently noticed the liquids that Hiro had, and wanted to tell him something more he found. "You can also make your own Oral Rehydrating Solution by mixing one half level teaspoon of salt and 6 level teaspoons of sugar into 1 Liter of water. Please be exact about these amounts for best effectiveness."

"Okay, thanks Baymax." Whether he actually was going to make that was another matter. It did sound like something good to add to Baymax's Arsenal of Remedies though. Yet, he had to wonder if it would just be easier to put some salt into a Kool-Aid mix? Or would that have too much sugar? He made another mental note to ask Honey Lemon sometime. Except, he would rather use the dye-free drink mix, because crazy colored puke was just too much.

The paper door slid open, breaking his thoughts, and Hiro looked over his shoulder before standing up to face her. Somehow he thought it was strange to see GoGo dressed in black sweat pants and a baggy, gray sweat shirt hoodie, after all the tight fitting clothes she usually wore.

"What?" GoGo must've noticed the perplexed look on his face.

"Uh," Hiro felt a blush coming over his cheeks. In an effort to hide that, he quickly knelt down to pick up the bottle of water and mug of ice. Then he turned to stifle a cough that seemed to suddenly hit him. "For you. Just... drink it more slowly this time."

"Thank you," GoGo took them. "I will."

He tried clearing his throat, then swallowed hesitantly, trying to find more words. "Are you feeling better now? Is your fever down?"

"A little," GoGo turned back toward her small bedroom. One wall to the left was a red unpainted brick, and against it was a thin mattress by itself on the floor with a couple thick comforters on top. She had a fruit crate as a bedside table on the closest side, and a well-made loft-style shelf of two by fours that went over the head of her mattress bed. A low dresser against the wall at the end of the bed held a flat screen monitor, a speaker on each side, and other little gadgets and books.

GoGo set the water and mug on the fruit crate table. "Are you able to get back home okay?" She sat down on her bed to grab a roll of toilet paper by her pillow, then pulled some off to blow her nose.

"Um, yeah. There's a subway station near here, but..." he looked at the floor for a moment. "I don't have to be back until eight." Aunt Cass had asked him to help her in the cafe at that time, every week now. One, Friday nights were just plain busy, and two, it kept him out of trouble. But she may not want him to help this night since he had been sick.

"Is it okay if I stay?" Hiro finally asked, still standing by the sliding doors. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

GoGo looked at Hiro, and Baymax, who was shadowing behind him. Hiro started with another round of coughing, causing her to wait a few seconds longer before saying anything.

"Sure, as long as you do get home by eight," she tossed her tissues into a nearby trashcan. Then GoGo looked to his rotund robot. "Thank you, Baymax. I'm satisfied with my care."

"You are welcome, GoGo," Baymax bowed slightly before turning to walk back to the charging bay platform of his case.

Hiro went back to grab his own water bottle from his backpack before walking into her bedroom. He took a swig to help keep his cough at bay.

"It's okay," GoGo gestured for him to sit on the bed next to her, sniffling some. "Sorry that I don't have much furniture. It's just easier to move without all that extra stuff."

Hiro sat down on the bed to the left of her and set his water on the floor. "I actually think your place looks..sick," he smirked.

"Feeling better?" GoGo turned toward him, a small smile playing on her lips now. "Looked like you were going to need the bucket too, back in the elevator."

"Psshh," Hiro tried to deny it, shaking his head. His eyes avoided hers.

"Fess up! You're a puker!" she teased with a sniffle. looking at him square in the eyes.

"I am not!"

"Are too." GoGo was going to push him, but he intercepted her arms with a grappling hold.

"Never!" Hiro protested as she pushed him over by continuing to shove into him with her body. The Korean was still stronger than him though.

He fell back on her bed, but GoGo went with him since he still had her left arm. She now laid on his right shoulder and he let go of her arm. Welcoming this opportunity to be close, so close to her body, Hiro cautiously brought his arm up around her waist. It wasn't for long, because she rose up and twisted around to prop herself up on her elbows in the crook of his arm. He returned his arm now to rest on her back.

"Seriously, though... thank you for getting me home," GoGo's voice was more sincere. He could feel her hot breath on his neck, she was that close to him.

Hiro rose up on his elbows to look at her too. "It's the least I could do." Her hoodie was half way up on her head, messing up her shiny black and purple hair.

Then GoGo reached up to brush his long bangs aside and trailed her hand down to his cheek. She leaned forward to kiss him softly on the other cheek. "Kam-sahm-nida," the Korean girl thanked him again, but then quickly sat up away from him to grab a tissue for her runny nose.

Hiro felt his heart start to pound for a few long seconds after that slightly unexpected kiss. His cheeks and ears were beginning to tingle from another blush, and he looked down, away from her while also sitting up. He was really starting to hate how that kept happening in front of her.

"Hey, want to learn some Korean?" She asked while scrolling through something on her phone. She still held a tissue in her other hand.

"Ehh," Hiro found it hard to find the right words for that kind of question. "Okay... I guess."

"I'll start out easy by getting familiar with how it sounds though watching some Korean shows," GoGo aimed the remote at the flat screen to turn it on. Then after tapping a few more selections on her phone, the video transmitted to play on the larger screen.

Hiro crawled up further on the bed by the pillows, so he could sit next to her. "What's this one about?"

The title was in Korean, and it took a few more keystrokes on her phone until the English subtitles appeared. "You might like this one, even though it's older."

"My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox?" Hiro read out loud in dismay. He hoped this wasn't going to be like those sappy movies Aunt Cass got all weepy over. Fortunately, he was able to get her hooked on thrillers instead just to save his sanity. "You're making me watch a chick flick?"

GoGo clicked her tongue. "No, a Korean drama. These are way better! Trust me."

"You don't have any action movies?" He did not believe her. In fact, he wondered just how this could be educational.

"It's easier to learn the Korean phrases on these - action scenes are too distracting." GoGo looked at him, looking very serious. "Besides, this one is based off an ancient folk lore about a nine-tailed fox spirit. You know about those, right?"

"Maybe," he scrunched his face in thought.

"It's not the same as Naruto though." GoGo knew him all too well. "In Korea, this spirit is called a 'kumi-ho', which is a fox that had lived for a thousand years. They are evil spirits that crave to eat human hearts to survive... But they also long to love like a human. There are also so many stories about how they can become human. Once they are human, they are no longer a flesh eating monster. One way is for the fox to go a 100 or more days without eating humans or meat, all while hiding their identity, to change."

"Yeah," Hiro nodded. "Now I remember hearing about something like that."

"This series plays around with that folk lore," she pointed to the flat screen.

Hiro turned around to prop more pillows up against the brick wall so he could lean back against it. The underlying tale behind this Kumiho also made him wonder if she was comparing his circumstance to one. After all, she more or less agreed he really should wait before they took their relationship to a level beyond kissing.

GoGo noticed and did the same with her pillows. She also pulled up some of the comforter on her side to cover herself, and then leaned against Hiro to watch.

"You're not hungry or anything?" She thought to ask, realizing the time.

"Not now, no," Hiro twisted his mouth. But then he also echoed her question. "You're not going to puke anymore, are you?"

"I hope not," she responded bluntly, reaching for her bottle of water for a drink. They were quiet for a while, as he read more of the captions. Unfortunately there weren't any flesh eating monsters in this episode either.

"Back when this show came out over ten years ago, that actor was probably my first crush. He was so sexy, like in a totally real way." She finally confessed to him.

"Hm... Okay," Hiro glanced at her. Just the way she stated that just made him wonder why she wanted him to know that. But he also had to ask, since she brought it up. "So how would you classify me...?"

"Cute."

"Cute?"

"You need to grow a few more inches and start shaving before you become sexy."

"How do you know I'm not shaving already?"

GoGo just gave him one of her trademark 'shut up' glares.

"I take it that means I'll have to wait a hundred days too?" He teased her in return.

"Maybe."

He sighed, trying to not feel too let down though. It actually would be a hundred and twelve days until his fifteenth birthday in June. He was still a minor at fifteen, but at least that number didn't sound as young as fourteen. However, he would give anything to just fast forward to being sixteen already.

Age was the biggest thing that drove him nuts. While he could get around everything else for being a prodigy, the legal limits set for age still took effect, no matter what. And yet, more doubt and fear crept into his mind about his continuing friendship with GoGo. She was his first real crush, but what if things changed later for them when he was finally old enough. He never really even had any other friends (that weren't online) during high school, and he hardly got to know anyone yet outside of the Nerd Lab.

Even worse, what if something tragic also happened to GoGo? This scared him more than anything. He still struggled at times to feel comfortable with his new friends, and mostly because he and the others put their lives on the line whenever they donned on their superhero costumes. GoGo was the only other person besides Tadashi that he had felt close enough to open up in this way. Why do I need to watch a drama? I already live one of my own, he sighed again.

GoGo happened to look over to him, apparently noticing how much he was sighing.

Hiro just shook his head to let her know it was nothing, but the pensive look on his face must have still been there.

"Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" she looked at him again, believing it was the last thing she said that had him worried. "I like you, right now, for being you, Hiro."

"Yeah," he sighed again, this time attempting to put his arm around her as she settled back a little more against him.

More time passed as the episode neared the end. GoGo happened to notice the time, and realized Hiro had dozed off, otherwise oblivious to what time it was. "Hey, ya, it's 7:30," she turned slightly, bringing a hand up to pat him on the cheek to alert him. "Hiro, wake up. Gotta go!"

"Aish, what time?" he sat up, yawning, and trying to become a little more awake.

"Go time," she just said.

"Gotcha," he crawled over to get off of the bed. Before he stood up from the kneeling position he was in, Hiro hesitated a moment, trying to think of the best way to say goodbye. GoGo simply rose up to hug him instead, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Hiro broke away, looking up into GoGo's dark eyes for a couple long seconds as he worked up the courage to make the next move. His heart started to pound hard, so much there was no doubt she was also feeling it. He moved in closer to kiss her on the lips, his second real kiss ever. He still felt bad how their first kiss made her sick, so hopefully this one would make up for that. Accepting his motion, GoGo brought her hand up from his shoulder to cradle his head. Hiro took this as an invitation to continue, parting his lips to taste her mouth and the trace amounts of mint on her tongue from the toothpaste. She guided his tongue over hers, gently caressing against his lips.

GoGo drew in a sharp breath, breaking away to just wrap her arms close around his neck, her fingers of one hand clutching his hair. Hiro could feel his heartbeat pounding against her, his breathing just as shallow from the rush. He held his grip just as tightly around her body, and then moved down to let his face rest on her warm chest to feel her equally strong heartbeat. His emotions felt absolutely chaotic, and trying to stay focused on what he really should be doing was difficult. Time was absolutely irrelevant now.

"Homework," GoGo suddenly said, releasing Hiro from her embrace to sit back a little. Her hands still rested on his shoulders though.

"Home.. homework?" Oh why did she do things like this just when he couldn't think straight?

"Ne. Repeat after me," the Korean looked at him, intently, while speaking her next sentence. "Tangshin-ul sarang-hamnida."

"Tang sun, sa lang-"

GoGo leaned in closer, gripping his shoulders, to say the sounds more slowly into his ear. "Tang-shin-ool sa-lahng-hahm-nee-da."

He repeated again what she told him with a little more accuracy.

"Yes, now memorize it," she sat back.

"What's that mean?" Hiro wondered.

"That's part of your assignment." GoGo smiled coolly.

Hiro pouted, mentally repeating what she told him again. As soon as he got to the subway, he planned to use a translator app on his tablet to find out.

"Better hurry, it's getting late." She dropped her arms from his shoulders, glancing at the clock. Hiro swore under his breath, Really late!

"One more," he quickly hugged her again before standing up. "I'm leaving Baymax here if you need anything."

"Yey, thanks. Text me when you get home, okay."

"Okay," Hiro said, now by the front door, hopping on one foot to get his shoes on.

Hiro was sitting on a nearly empty bench in a car on the outbound subway. But at this point, he had slumped down with his legs drawn up on the bench, trying to hide his face behind a little, seven inch black tablet. Fortunately, the car was not crowded, and neither was there anyone Korean on it. Not knowing how to write the Korean words into the translator, he had to speak the sentence out loud a couple times for the app to translate. The tablet now rested on his forehead, and he closed his eyes in disbelief. Even though he had his suspicions, the confirmation came as a surprise, and he felt way more embarrassed for not figuring that out sooner. The teen finally lowered the tablet to his knees, and the longer he stared at the translated words, the more the reality of them had sunk in.

Hiro opened up his messenger to send GoGo a text, now grinning as he typed.

[BHero6] 웃❤유!

AN: Yes, this one part became a two-part, just because the evil plot-bunnies had to give GoGo her turn! But that's it for this fic.

I'll be honest... I am not clear how "fluff" is defined these days, but by my definition, I think it's all that non-sexual stuff that happens first to make the relationship what it is. Like totally sharing one's food (complete with germs!) and in the case of these two characters, their language and culture too. And then just being there when sick, weak, and otherwise not yourself, it's a true test of friendship! However, just because GoGo is sick, doesn't mean she will stop trying to get even! ;D

And... since song fics are totally last century, I will just say that I blame "Love Me Like You Do" (by Ellie Goulding) for making want to put a kissing scene in here! As well as "Sledgehammer" by Fifth Harmony, and "Heartbeat Song". (Primus, I practically have my own personal soundtrack, but I'll spare everyone from that! ;p)

And also... just to spare everyone the same task of trying to speak what GoGo said into their translators, it's "(I) love you." ;D