I am so sorry for the criminally long time between updates. A combination of exams plus severe writing block crippled me creatively. However, I now have a plan for where I want this story to go, so if I get enough interest (i.e. reviews) I would love to keep writing.
Chapter Five: Something Normal
It was still strange to actually feel GoGo's lips against his. Hiro had been head over heels for this girl for years and now she was actually kissing him back outside his front door.
"I really want to invite you inside," he whispered, their mouths not even a centimetre apart.
"And I really want you to," she replied, her breath hot against his face.
"But…?" he asked, knowing that word was coming.
"But we really shouldn't," she said, somewhat regretfully.
"I know," he said, grinning sardonically.
"I'm not saying never," she quickly added, "I'm just saying… not… tonight. I really want this to work and I don't moving too fast would… I just don't think it would be a good idea."
"You're right," he replied, "There's just one problem."
"What's that?" she asked playfully, her lips brushing against the side of his neck.
"That for me to go inside, we have to stop."
"That is a problem," she agreed before pushing him hard against the wall and kissing him again.
~o~O~o~
"Hey."
Hiro quickly spun around in the direction of the voice. Honey-Lemon was lying down on the sofa, idly channel surfing when he entered.
"Ah, ah nothing," he quickly stammered. Nothing? He thought to himself. Why did I say that? That's not how you respond to "hey."
"Ok-ay then," she replied, obviously confused by his reaction. "How was GoGo?" she asked.
"What do you – What do you mean?" he replied, "How would I know anything about GoGo?"
"How is she? You both went to the police station, right?"
"Ah, yeah… Yeah we did," he said quickly, "The detective there wouldn't let us in. The… um… Skylark, she escaped." Honey-Lemon frowned at the news.
"That's not good," she said unnecessarily, "What are we going to do?" Hiro shrugged, a little calmer now that she was asking about something other than GoGo.
"I don't know," he said honestly, "I was thinking of taking Baymax to scan the city tomorrow but aside from that I think that this is a police matter. We deal with things as they come. Honey-Lemon sighed, obviously not thrilled with the idea but also understanding the need to be realistic. They simply lacked the ability to be more proactive in dealing with crime.
Hiro looked around the living room. "Where is Baymax anyway?" he asked.
"In his charging station," she replied before looking at him critically. "Are you sure that you're alright?" she asked, "You looked a little jumpy when you got in."
"I'm fine," he insisted, a little too quickly.
"So what did you do then?" she asked.
"Just went for a walk," he answered, shrugging again.
"For twelve hours?" she asked, obviously unconvinced.
"Um, yeah," he offered weakly. Her eyes narrowed and she grinned sardonically.
"Alrighty, Mister," she said firmly, "What are you hiding?"
"Nothing," he said immediately. "Nothing," he repeated. She continued to look at him, her glasses magnifying her eyes to giant orbs of doubt. He grinned awkwardly at her. "You know what?" he said, "I'm not feeling hungry so I think that I'm just gonna head to my room." Her eyes followed him until he had retreated to the safety of his bedroom.
Finally free from his roommates all too perceptive gaze, Hiro allowed himself to collapse onto his bed. Just less than five minutes ago, he had been kissing GoGo.
He could still feel how soft her lip were when they were pressed against his.
~o~O~o~
GoGo flopped onto her bed. She could honestly say that she had not seen the day turning out the way it had. After leaving the police station she had suggested going to breakfast so as to see how she and Hiro would interact in a date like setting. She hadn't expected him to actually come out and say that he liked her.
And then she had kissed him.
The rest of the day had kind gone in a blur as they adjust to the transition from good friends to something more intimate. They hadn't done anything major, they had just walked around the city holding hands. It was so… normal. No explosions, no bad guys, no runaway trains, just the two of them. After the rough and tumble of her day to day life, something normal had the potential to be extraordinary, to be something precious.
And then they ended up outside his door. She had wanted to go in but had also meant what she said. She wanted to get this right.
It still didn't help with the feeling of frustration that she was currently experiencing. A feeling that she desperately wished to dispel.
"Stupid hormones," she muttered as she felt her hand creep under her waistband.
~o~O~o~
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Honey-Lemon glanced at her bedside clock.
1:02 am.
It could only be Hiro knocking on her door but what could he possibly want at this ungodly hour? She reluctantly climbed out of bed, ambled over to the door and opened it to reveal an extremely agitated looking Hiro.
"Uh… hi," he said quickly, "I'm sorry for… I'm… I'm sorry for waking you but I'm kind of freaking out right now. Can I… Can I talk – I mean, can we talk?" Honey-Lemon quickly opened the door all the way and ushered the younger man into her room.
"Yes of course," she replied. She made him sit on her bed, their many years of friendship and six months of cohabitation removing any awkward feelings that could have otherwise arisen from the situation. "So," she began, "What's wrong?" He didn't say anything in response, simply continuing to stare at his knees. "Hiro," she said gently, putting a sisterly arm around his shoulder, "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."
"I didn't spend the day walking around the city," he said quietly. She smiled kindly at him.
"I kind of figured that part out all on my own," she said, "I have an IQ of 141, I can occasionally pick up on things." Hiro chuckled, slightly more at ease. "So what did you do instead of walking around the city all day?"
"I told GoGo how I felt about her," he admitted softly. She was momentarily taken aback. After all, she hadn't actually expected him to take her advice and try talking to GoGo about his feelings.
"And…?" she asked.
"She kissed me," he said simply. Honey-Lemon laughed and squeezed him tighter.
"That's great news, Hiro," she happily exclaimed, "So what's going to happen now?"
"We're going to try dating," he said. For some reason, he didn't sound quite as enthusiastic as he could have.
"Isn't that a good thing?" she asked him. He nodded. "But what's wrong?"
"I've never done this before," he said, "You know, I went to college, became a superhero, did a lot of weird out of the ordinary things before I even turned eighteen. I guess that I never really got around to doing the… ordinary things. I've never really had a girlfriend before. Okay, I'm scared, I've never done this before. I don't really know what to do. What if I screw it up?"
"Oh sweetie," she said, her arm still wrapped around him, "You're going to do just fine. Bit of advice though, GoGo, as I'm sure you know, can be used to… uh, getting her own way. Just don't let her walk over you, it's alright to give a little push back occasionally."
"I'll keep that in mind," he replied.
"So are you feeling a bit better?" she asked. He grinned ruefully, now feeling a little embarrassed over being in such a vulnerable state.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he said, "Thanks, you know, for, for listening."
"Anytime," she replied. "Now," she added, "If you're feeling better am I allowed to squee because I've been one in for the majority of this conversation and I should warn you that it's going to be a big one."
"Go to town," he laughed and she let out a high pitched squee of truly epic proportions.
SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
"Oh I'm so happy for you," she said when she was done.
"I'm touched, truly," he said dryly as he tried to dispel the ringing in his ears. "Hey, can you do me a favour?"
"Sure," she replied, "What do you need?"
"Can this just be between us for now?" he asked, "I don't want the other guys to know until we've… you know, gone on a few dates and established everything."
"Yeah, I can do that."
~o~O~o~
Two weeks later
Katherine Skylark pursed her lips together as she examined the blueprints that she had spent the better part of the week working on. While it was only early days and could not possibly be ready in such a short amount of time, she still could not help but feel angry at what she perceived to be a serious lack of progress.
"I trust that everything is going well, ma'am," said Howard as he entered the lab, carrying a tray with a fresh pot of coffee.
"I'm fine, Howard," she said, "And please stop calling me that."
"Yes, ma'am," he immediately replied. She sighed audibly. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked, glancing at the blueprint.
"I just can't generate the required energy for a device of this size to work," she said irritably. "If it was allowed to be bigger? Sure, no problem, that would be easy but this?"
"I have every confidence that you will come to the correct solution," he said optimistically, "However, if it would not be too bold of me, might I suggest…" He picked up a pencil and scribbled in a quick addition to the blueprint. "Now this doesn't fix your energy problem entirely but I strongly think that this is a step in the right direction."
"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, "You know that's not a half bad idea. Thanks. Hey, Howard?"
"Yes ma'am," he said.
"What's a guy like you doing with… Seriously, what is your boss' name?" she asked, "Why are you with a slimy suit like him?"
"My employer values his privacy," Howard replied (pronouncing the word "PRIV-I-SEE" with the merest hint of an English accent poking its head out), "And I respect that. As for why I am in his service, well, he has done a lot for over the years. He is my friend. Now, is there anything more that you require from me tonight?"
"Nah, I'm pretty good," she said, "I should probably take another swing at this. Oh, and Howard. Thanks again for the help."
"My pleasure, ma'am," he said, bowing slightly, "Let me know if you require more coffee or anything else for that matter."
~o~O~o~
They were sitting cradled in opposite ends of her couch, each holding steaming cups of coffee and trying to pretend there wasn't hail and freezing rain pounding against the windows. Something - the lateness, the quiet, the storm or maybe just the intimacy of having her feet brushing his under the blanket gave him the courage to ask what had been on his mind for some time. "GoGo," Hiro began nervously, "Have you…? I mean, of course you… Have there been a lot of…? Have you…?" She scoffed slightly before deciding to take pity on him.
"Three," she replied, wagging that many fingers at him as if he needed clarification.
"Three?" he repeated.
"Uh-huh," she said before calmly taking a sip of coffee.
"Only three?" She choked slightly as her coffee went down the wrong way.
"Hiro Hamada!" she said in a faux-scandalised tone, her grin killing most of the scorn, "Just what are you trying to imply?" He blushed a deep shade of red before answering.
"I just thought it would have been more," he mumbled.
"And why is that?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow playfully.
"Well…" he shrugged. "I think that you're pretty awesome so it stands to reason that other guys might share that thought." She moved over to his side of the couch, grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her, snuggling against him.
"Thanks," she said, turning around slightly so she could kiss him.
"I'm just saying what's true," he replied. She smiled at his words and closed her eyes in contentment.
She felt very warm.
And very happy.
"Why do you ask?" she asked, "And what about you?"
"What about me?"
"How many have you…? You know?" He was quiet for a few seconds before finally answering.
"None," he said simply.
"Wow," was her response, "I honestly didn't expect that. Cute, nerdy guy like you, I figured the girls would be throwing themselves at you."
"I've been on a few dates," he said, "You know that, Hell, you criticised everyone at some point. But… well, I've never had a girlfriend before, just you and any of the girls I was with… well, we just never went that far. Don't laugh but I wanted to be with someone special." He couldn't see her face but she smiled gently at his statement. While still making sure that his arms were wrapped around her, so shifted around so that their faces were just centimetres apart.
"I really like you, Hiro," she said, caressing his face, "That being said, you're not going to get lucky tonight." He laughed.
"I feel pretty lucky right now," he said, looking her right in the eye, stroking her hair with the hand not wrapped around her. "Right here, right now, with you. Anything more would just be a bonus." He then leant forward to kiss her.
"You could get luckier soon though," she added alluringly before kissing him again.
"Ew," said a voice. They broke the kiss and looked up to see Honey-Lemon carrying two pizza boxes, the delicious smell radiating off them. Her expression was the unholy lovechild of scorn and amusement. "I leave for twenty minutes to get dinner for us and come home to this." She grinned and giggled. "I think that I officially no longer find this to be cute. Now scoot over," she said, shoving Hiro to the centre of the couch so that he was pressed against GoGo and that there was now room for a third person, "I got us a trashy rom-com to watch because they're always fun when GoGo's around."
"I hate rom-coms," GoGo stated flatly.
"I know," said Honey-Lemon, nodding enthusiastically, "That's what makes them fun."
The perky blonde immediately received a cushion to the face.
~o~O~o~
I hope that you enjoyed this and continue to read as I update.
Please review and I'll see you next time.
