Tadashi did get the ten minute sleep he wanted, he just wished the world could've been more generous. He woke up unaware that both he and Hiro dozed off while arguing about bot-fighting. He never thought he'd have such an argument in his life, especially with a kid he just met, who was also an experiment. On the other hand, he never did expect to be a hero, but look at him. He clearly remembered Fred warning him about 'plot twists.' At first he didn't think of it much, but at that moment he was so close to considering it.
He tried to get out of bed, but he felt a light weight on his shoulders. Hiro was snuggled close to him with his bot - 'Megabot' he called it - in between them. A small chuckle escaped Tadashi's lips. The young boy was nice when he was quiet. He wouldn't mind taking care of him longer if he was like that all the time.
He carefully slipped out of the younger one's embrace, grabbed a towel and some clothes and entered the bathroom. He had classes as early as eight and it was half pass seven. He needed to hurry.
In the shower, he wondered if he should bring Hiro to the university. Surely the gang wanted to see him, he thought. Plus, the little guy surely didn't want to be trapped alone in the room whole day. Sure, he'd still be trapped in a lab, but at least his friends could come and check up on him. After their talk last night, Tadashi was afraid that Hiro might sneak off and actually try bot fighting. He didn't want to take any chances.
Suddenly the light started to flicker. He thought it was pretty unusual, but not that much. Just a fluctuation, maybe? He started to get suspicious when he started to hear noises from outside. The computer turning on, their music player, he could also hear wires short circuiting. Even from the inside of the bathroom, he could hear kitchen appliances going haywire.
Luckily Tadashi was already dressed and only brushing his teeth so he just barged right out, only to find Hiro whimpering on his bed, eyes shut like it was glued together. His hand gripped the bedsheets under him and beads of sweat started to roll down on his face.
Tadashi didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what was happening.
"Stop. N-no more please. I-It hurts. I-it hurts!" Then Hiro breathed out.
It had only hit the older male then; nightmare.
He wasted no time to act. He grabbed the one of the boy's hand and started to shake him, "C'mon Hiro, wake up." He said. But it was no use. Hiro was still asleep and everything was getting worse. Lights flickered faster, circuits were starting to smell burnt. He tried doing it a little more harsher because of panic, "C'mon buddy. It's just a nightmare. Wake up!" He shouted, and Hiro's eyes just shot up. Everything froze when it did, and as Hiro started to calm down again, everything did too.
"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. Hiro still looked pretty scared, but he nodded as he gulped down the fear. He then looked at the older male and the fear just disappeared and was replaced by an expression Tadashi couldn't seem to comprehend.
He was surprised when Hiro started laughing, out loud even! Tadashi thought he was going crazy. Who wakes up from a nightmare and laughs?
Hiro then pointed at his mouth, which Tadashi didn't get. The young boy started snickering again, "Nice beard, Tadashi."
Tadashi still didn't get it. He only did when he touched his mouth and felt the soapy aftermath of tooth brushing. At first he felt embarrassed and insulted, but hearing such a laugh made all that negative emotions just melt away. He joined in the laughter.
XxxxX
"Why did I have to take a bath so early?" Hiro complained as he went downstairs with the Tadashi. The male was checking things in his messenger bag to see if he was all ready for school. He also decided to bring Hiro. Seeing what happened earlier, he knew that it wasn't best to leave him alone.
"You're coming with me to my university." He answered. Hiro's sour mood just faded away and was replaced by pure excitement.
"A school? We're going to a school? Yes! It's my first time in a school!"
Tadashi was sad to hear that. How long was he an experiment that he didn't get the chance to go to a school? It just added up another reason for him to take the little guy.
Hiro seemed a little too excited though. He just dashed passed him and shouted down the hallway, "I'll wait for you outside!"
The older male could only smile and shake his head.
He then entered the kitchen and was greeted by Aunt Cass who looked very unorganized and confused with all the kitchen appliances out of their places. He knew it was because of Hiro's powers. His Aunt tried her best not to show stress though. She still smiled as she worked and that's one of the many things Tadashi loved about her.
"Morning Aunt Cass." He greeted with a kiss on the cheek.
"Good morning, honey. I'm sorry, I'm kind of busy right now, and I know you're in a hurry too so I just made you and that cute little cupcake breakfast to-go. Is that okay?"
Tadashi nodded whole - heartedly and grabbed the paper bags on the table. He then gave her another kiss on the cheek and said goodbye.
"Have a nice day, hun. Oh, and don't forget to call that young boy's parents, okay?"
"I won't. Have a nice day, Aunt Cass."
"Aww, you too, honey."
XxxxX
"Good Morning, Tadashi. Oh, and you brought the little guys with you too." Wasabi greeted as he got out off his car. He then made his way to them as Tadashi parked his mope. Hiro got off and jumped in his place. He was only inside the school's parking lot, but he seemed really excited.
Wasabi couldn't help but chuckle, "What? Is it your first time in a school?" He asked jokingly. He was surprised to actually see Hiro nod. He turned to Tadashi to see if the boy was just kidding him, but sadly Tadashi frowned at him confirming the boy's answer.
The larger man could give Hiro a pat on the head out of sympathy. "You'll enjoy it here."
"I hope I will. By the way, what's your name?" Hiro asked.
"Wasabi."
The young boy stared at him, excitement disappearing from his face turning to a much more amused and teasing grin, "Wasabi? Really?"
"It's a nickname." the larger male only shrugged.
While Wasabi and Hiro were merrymaking, Tadashi was already in a hurry. Five minutes before the start of his first class and it was in the other building. He could make it if he ran. "Hey Wasabi, I'm really running late. Could you take him to the lab?"
Hiro's eyes seemed to sparkle at the word, "A lab?"
Wasabi placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder and smiled, "And we have it to ourselves. You can stay there as long as you want." Hiro fist bumped the air. "Don't worry man, I got him. Go. You know I don't support tardiness."
Tadashi gave him a grateful smile as he dashed away.
Wasabi and Hiro walked towards the lab, talking about the other members of the super hero team. The little man already grew on him and vice versa. It just made him feel like they made the right decision not to bring him back.
As soon as they arrived, Hiro just burst through the doors and he was amazed by what he saw. Contraptions everywhere, tech pieces, tools, diagrams. chemical and everything he adored. Sure, it was a little messy - except for one part which was disturbingly neat and organized - but it was everything Hiro imagined it to be.
The first thing he noticed was this yellow motorcycle that looked so cool! He didn't think twice on taking a closer look. Wasabi followed.
"Woah, electromag suspension." he breathed out as he passed his hand between the wheel and the holder. Wasabi was taken aback by the fact that a young boy like him knew what it was.
"Oh. It's the brat." Hiro jumped when he heard a voice came out of nowhere. He turned to see a female figure with a motorcycle helmet on. She then removed it, revealing their black-haired friend.
"Gogo, right?" he re-called what Wasabi had told him while they were walking. "This bike is awesome! It's the one you used in you sui-"
He was stopped by two gloved female hands. Gogo hushed him down as she glared at him. "Look, kid, if you can keep us being heroes a secret, that would be nice."
He just nodded.
Gogo walked away from him and started tinkering with her bike, absent-mindedly explaining what it was. "Zero resistance, faster bike. But-"
She then pulled off one of the wheels and threw it away, skillfully shooting it in a basket filled with other previous and 'failed' - in Gogo's words - attempts. "Not fast enough yet."
As the black-haired woman walked away to continue with her work, Hiro then rushed off to see another invention that caught his eyes. It was two green glas-like pillars. He wondered what it did, but there were safety line around it so it must be dangerous- and awesome. He wanted to take a closer look, but before he could even do that, Wasabi pulled him back.
"Woah, woah, woah. Behind the line, little buddy." he said despite passing the line himself. Anticipation was printed all over the younger one's face. He didn't even need to ask what it was anymore, Wasabi was already going to show him how it works. "Prepare to be amazed. Catch." He threw an apple through the two pillars and it just split into paper-thin - maybe even thinner - slices. Another 'woah' escaped the young boy's lips.
"Laser induced plasma! Cool!" Yet again, Wasabi was amazed.
Hiro just then looked around his side of the lab, only to realize that the disturbingly neat side belonged to the large man. "Wow," he picked up one of the tools, "How do you find anything in this mess?"
Just with that simple action, Wasabi almost panicked and grabbed the tool from the young boy's hand, "I have a system. There's a place for everything, and everything is in its place." He then carefully put it back like the whole world just became peaceful again. It wasn't peaceful for long because Gogo suddenly arrived and grabbed one. Wasabi panicked again and chased after her, leaving Hiro to wonder what exactly just happened.
To make things much weirder, a blonde girl just grabbed him out of nowhere and dragged him towards a table filled with different chemicals.
"I'm glad to see you here, Hiro!" she shouted in glee as she gave him a hug and a few kisses on the cheek.
"Heey, uh, Honey Lemon." he remembered. Honey nodded.
"Want to see something amazing?" she again dragged Hiro towards a big black ball.
He was just stunned, "That's a whole lot of tungsten carbine."
"Four hundred pounds of it!" She shouted with enthusiasm. "Come here! Come here! Come here! You're gonna love this!" she then walked Hiro through different viles and beakers, turning taps and putting drop in each, explaining what the purpose of each in the process, and then burning it in maximum heat. By the end, the result was some kind of chemical that was in a spray container. They both return to the huge ball of tungsten carbine and coated it with the chemical, turning into a huge ball of girly.
"Wow, so pink." Hiro commented.
"Here's the best part." she added as she approached it almost tippy-toed like and poked it. It just exploded into pink dust!
Hiro was amazed. "Woah." was all he could say.
Honey turned to him with the same amount of enthusiasm, "I know right? Chemical metal embrettlement."
"Wow. You guys are awesome! I hope you had better nicknames though, I can't take you seriously." The young boy could only chuckle.
She could only laugh too and shake her head, "Fred's the one who comes up with the nicknames."
"Oh Fred, the lizard guy?"
"That's me!" Hiro turned around only to bump into a gigantic lizard's head. He thought he was wearing his super hero suit, but he noticed that it was different.
"It's nice seeing you again, bro." he said, sticking out an arm from the lizard costume's mouth and shaking Hiro's. "I'm the Fredzilla. School mascot by day, and by night-" he threw the sign he was holding and skillfully caught it again before he gave a cool-like - at least to him- smile, "still school mascot."
"Oh, what's your major?"
Fred gave a laugh and walked towards a red worn out chair, which Hiro only noticed then, and threw himself on it lazily, "I'm no student here, but I am a major science enthusiast. Not too long ago, I asked Honey to make me a formula that would transform me into a giant fire-breathing lizard. But Tadashi already made me a suit. He did leave out the 'giant' part though."
"How many times do we have to tell you that that's not science?" Wasabi with Gogo approached them.
"Yeah, like how the invisible sandwich isn't?"
"It's really not." Honey Lemon said.
"Really, dork? We're going to go through this again?" Gogo then frustratingly stated.
Seeing them argue and insult each other created a warm feeling in Hiro's chest and laughter just erupted from him. His sudden action caught the gang's attention. He was really laughing hard, stomach aching, breath proving to be insufficient, still he didn't stop.
Wasabi, Honey, Gogo and Fred thought he was going crazy.
Then Hiro shouted, "This day just keeps getting better and better! If this keeps up, it'll be the best day of my life thus far!"
"Hey! What's that?" The young boy's attention was immediately caught by something else and he just ran away without even asking permission from anyone. He didn't notice how everyone's face just turned sad.
Days like those were normal for them, maybe annoying even, but to think for a young kid like him it was considered as 'best.' It tugged at their heart strings forcefully. Even the great Gogo Tomago, who is usually a brick wall despite the emotional stuff, had obvious sadness in her eyes.
Looking at the direction where Hiro went, they just noticed then that he went into Tadashi's lab. The gang could hear him gasp in amazement from inside. They would hear things like 'this robot looks cool!'and 'this could be useful with wheels.' They figured that he was safe and distracted enough to leave alone. They went back to their own businesses, still carrying in mind the new friend they just made.
XxxxX
Tadashi's first class was finally over and the next one wasn't due until four hours. He stopped by the lab, as always, bringing his things and Baymax's station with him. He could see that Gogo and Wasabi were already gone, probably gone to their classes. Meanwhile, he was wondering why Fred and Honey were crowded at his lab door.
"Ahem," both blondes jumped when they heard Tadashi cough, "What are you two doing there?"
Both of them turned around forcing a laugh, Fred scratching the back of his neck and Honey toying with her fingers.
"We just can't help it, he's adorable." Honey finally spoke.
Tadashi took a peek inside only to see Hiro asleep on Tadashi's desk, surrounded by his past blueprints and project proposals before Baymax. He came inside and checked out each paper, noticing that each were tinkered with, corrected and improved. His eyes drifted to the peaceful boy and for some reason, a sense of pride welled up inside of him. He knelt beside him and gave him a small pat on the head.
"This is better than bot-fighting you know." Was all he could say. He knew he couldn't hear him, but still. He felt like he needed to say something.
Then a snap came out of nowhere. He turned to his two friends, only to find Honey Lemon taking a picture of both of them.
"You two are adorable!" she commented, taking another shot.
"Yeah, bro." Fred agreed, "I wouldn't be surprised if Hiro was your long lost little bro or something."
Tadashi only gave them a tired smile. "That's impossible."
The male blonde only shrugged his shoulders, "As impossible as being college students who are super heroes and who also found a kid who has super human powers."
What his friend hit him like a brick.
He knew deep in his heart that what Fred said was completely impossible, but-
It made sense.
XxxxX
WOOH! I'm on a roll. I have stuff already plotted in my mind - which is awesome because I wrote this without knowing what's going to happen next. For now, let's have bonding time between Hiro and the gang. The real drama starts in the next chapter!
Now reply to reviews!
December-in-the-Tower - Waaah! That's so flattering. I'm so glad you like it! Don't worry, there will be more feels and hopefully I answer questions more than adding them.
DestinyWing - I dunno why but I always saw Krei as a jerk. Maybe because of the fics that I read. I dunno. And oh, I like the way that sounds: 'Most dangerous invention in San Fransokyo' you just gave me an awesome idea - alas that idea might lead to some sad things. Oh, also, thank you for the song! Really gave me inspiration. :3
RazzlePazzleDooDot - Oh yes, they are, aren't they? Too bad they aren't, or are they? I'm messing with ya xD And yes, that's how writing goes- at least to me :'D