Author's notes: This was inspired by a birthday gift I made for a friend who liked roses, and semi-inspired by Coogg's suggestion for the theme 'Help'. Sry for delaying it for so long! As I have little to no knowledge about flowers, nearly all of the facts mentioned here are derived from the internet ( .net and love/Meaning-Roses-What-Number-Roses-Means-14080476). Thus, I apologise for any mistakes or inconsistencies. Also, I've reread my previous chapter and found quite a few mistakes and will be amending them ASAP. I hope I haven't deviated too far from my usual writing style in this chapter and that readers will not find it too draggy and boring. My exams are next week, so I won't be updating for some time - Hope readers enjoy this chapter, and please read and review. Thank you!
"GoGo, I need your help." Tadashi gazes into his companion's eyes almost imploringly. GoGo Tomago hesitates. It's not like she can say no when he does something like that - stare at her with his warm brown eyes until she caves.
"What?" She answers shortly, though deep down inside she can feel worry tugging at her gut. Did Tadashi lose his blueprints for Baymax's latest prototype? Was his brother in trouble again? Did-
"It's Aunt Cass' birthday next week," Tadashi groans. "And I have no idea what to get her."
GoGo pauses.
"Y'know, judging from your tone, I was expecting something more... serious and lethal." She drawls, more annoyed at herself than at Tadashi for being anxious over nothing.
"It is something serious. Aunt Cass took us in when we were kids - I have to repay her properly after all she's gone through to raise us." Tadashi insists.
Well, when he puts it that way, GoGo feels guilty. But what does she know about birthdays that would warrant advice for Tadashi? She hesitates slightly.
"Why are you asking me though? I'm pretty sure gifts are more of Honey Lemon's forte." Tadashi considers her point for a while and GoGo stares at him expectantly.
"Well," Tadashi tilts his head to the side contemplatively. "I think I like your help better."
GoGo flushes and socks him in the arm.
"Fine."
"What stuff does Aunt Cass like to do? Her hobbies, etc." GoGo questions with a blank look. They are situated in Tadashi's lab, GoGo seated on his desk - arms crossed, as usual - and Tadashi on his chair, a notebook and pencil in his hand.
"Well..." Tadashi mulls over it slowly, tucking the pencil behind his ear and raising his left hand (1). "She likes cats, hence why she adopted Mochi." He ticks off one finger. "Donuts, even though she complains it makes her fat." Another finger. "And her nephews - Hiro and I." He raises a third finger.
"That's not a lot to go on," GoGo points out flatly. Tadashi seems to realise it too, however belatedly. He frowns and furrows his eyebrows again, racking his brains for more of Aunt Cass' personal preferences. GoGo has to stifle a chuckle at how seriously he's treating the matter. It's almost cute- She shakes her head and refuses to finish that thought.
"Oh yeah, Aunt Cass really likes roses!" Tadashi suddenly bursts out in triumph. GoGo rolls her eyes. If he had known that, why hadn't Tadashi bought her a bouquet of roses straight away? It would have saved a lot of time (Not that she actually minded having to help the tall Hamada, though). But almost immediately afterwards, Tadashi's shoulders slump. GoGo shoots him a questioning look.
"Except," Tadashi rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "She's allergic to flowers." GoGo chuckles this time round, and it's Tadashi's turn to eye her in surprise.
"A little ironic, don't you think?" She comments in defense. Tadashi offers her a grin to show his agreement and GoGo feels her guard drop. She relaxes. However, it soon becomes evident that there were no more potential gifts for Aunt Cass, save the first four things Tadashi has mentioned - in which technically, Hiro and Tadashi could not be counted.
"Hiro's probably going to go to Aunt Cass and say 'I know you love me very much so I'm your present for the day. Happy Birthday!'" Tadashi rolls his eyes.
"Were you thinking of tying a ribbon around yourself too and saying the same thing?"
"Maybe."
It takes another half an hour of brainstorming, until GoGo gets to her feet and brushes herself off nonchalantly. Tadashi gives her a curious look, and GoGo returns his gaze with raised eyebrows.
"I've got an idea." She affirms. "We can do origami roses."
It takes a minute for the words to sink in Tadashi.
"Origami roses? You mean, like paper roses?" Tadashi repeats in dismay. "I'm horrible at handicrafts!"
"I know." GoGo's seen Tadashi's efforts at any craftwork or hands-on project that did not involve engineering and scientific stuff, and they have been pathetic. "That's why I'm here to help you."
Tadashi hesitates slightly but ends up grinning anyway.
"First, we decide on the colour. Pink roses should do it, since they are usually given to show thankfulness, admiration, and happiness in general. Deep pink is used for appreciation and gratitude while light pink is for admiration and sympathy. Peach roses are given to show modesty."
"What about red ones?"
"They say 'I love you'. They're usually sent to your significant other."
"Orange?"
"Desire. Captivation. Enthusiasm."
"White?"
"Innocence and purity."
"GoGo?"
"Yea?"
"How do you know so much about roses?"
GoGo pauses thoughtfully, not breaking pace from her casual stroll. They are heading to a nearby bookstore in order to secure some colour paper, and Tadashi's question tugs at faded memories of her family - tucked away and hidden in the corners of her mind.
"Mother was a big rose fanatic. Dad used to give her nine roses every month - all in pots, because he knew she loved growing them." Tadashi stays quiet for a while, and GoGo volunteers no more information. He wouldn't know what it meant anyway - she thinks fiercely - if she had admitted to him that her father had turned up with fifteen roses on the last day of the marriage (2).
"First you fold it like this... Press it gently..." GoGo launches into a myriad of instructions, all of which evidently becomes lost on Tadashi - if the crumpled piece of paper in his hand had anything to go by. GoGo almost laughes at the irony of it when she sees his dismayed expression. She was the speedster, the adrenaline-junkie. And Tadashi was the patient one, the one who devoted his life to building a nursing robot, the one who was generally slow and gentle and everything GoGo is not. Yet here, he was barely able to follow through the instructions of an origami rose, something she could (surprisingly) fulfil. Maybe it was the origami lessons her mother had given her as a child. Maybe she was simply going to fast for Tadashi to catch up.
"I'm not giving up." Tadashi states aloud firmly, glaring at the stack of modestly dark pink papers.
This time, GoGo doesn't stop her smile from surfacing. At least some things remained the same (3).
It takes close to a week until an impressive number of dark pink origami roses were folded, and Tadashi cautiously stores them in a pale green box with floral patterns. GoGo has ended up helping him with the first few roses at the begininng (Seeing as they've ended up resembling nothing close to a rose) until Tadashi has finally gotten the flow of it. But nevertheless, she can still certify that Aunt Cass' gift has been entirely handmade by him - the paper cuts he has when not being careful enough was proof enough ("You fold it like this-" "Ouch!" "What?" "Paper cut."). And while GoGo knows she's probably going to be avoiding origami roses for some time now (She swears she can fold them even in her sleep), she thinks back and decides she has no regrets in her decision.
"It went great!" Tadashi beams at GoGo the next morning, one day after Aunt Cass' birthday celebration - a private affair with only Hiro and himself were present. He promtply launches into enthusiastic descriptions of how he had made dinner, gave Aunt Cass her roses and a card, watched her stare at them in utter shock for a moment (which had made him cringe in worry), before bursting into loud sobs and throwing her arms around her nephew (which had made him cringe in pain). GoGo simply smiles and nods indifferently, even though honestly, she's contented that Tadashi's happy.
(It's just the tiniest bit sad that he's part of something she'll never be in. And that he has a happy family that she no longer and will not ever have).
"Here, GoGo." Breaking her out of her thoughts, Tadashi leans towards GoGo and deposits a few petite roses into her hands.
"... What are these for?" She demands suspiciously. They are a curious range of colours - Red, purple, orange, yellow, light pink and dark pink.
"Well... When I was trying to get used to the steps, I used other coloured papers so I wouldn't waste all of the pink." Tadashi starts to explain. He runs a hand through his tousled hair nervously, as if questioning the authencity of his action. "And they don't look half-bad - well, at least better than the others - so I decided to give them to you!" Tadashi brightens. "As a thank-you gift."
GoGo stares at the bundle in her arms and counts the roses carefully. She frowns, stares at it again, and resumes her counting. By her third count, she flushes red and glares at Tadashi.
"You- You don't just give six roses to-" GoGo splutters incoherently, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"To what?" Tadashi looks utterly lost. "Is it a bad number?" GoGo gives him a long, contemplative look - its meaning which is lost on him, and finally exudes a short sigh.
"It's fine." She finally admits. "Just check the internet or library for the meaning of rose numbers next time." With that, GoGo stalks off, muttering under her breath. Tadashi stares after her in confusion.
"That's strange," He mumbles, though gratified that GoGo has still opted to accept it. "I thought Honey Lemon said that six roses meant 'Thank you'."
That night, GoGo stares silently at the vase of origami roses across her table.
Yellow for friendship and happiness. Red for love and respect. Purple for enchantment or something of the like. Orange for captivation and desire. Dark pink for appreciation and gratitude, as she had said before. Light pink for sympathy and admiration. GoGo sighed. Mixed roses were generally given as a sign of unsure feelings.
But six roses? They conveyed the message of 'I want to be yours'. And when she thinks about how innocently Tadashi had passed it off as a 'Thank you' gift, GoGo can feel an annoying heat creep up her neck
She buries her face in her hands, and tries to hide the smallest of smiles that came with it too.
(1) Mini fact because I've read a theory/ headcanon that Tadashi's left-handed, based on the observations made from his tests on Baymax.
(2) According to the internet, fifteen roses meant an apology or something similar, hence why GoGo's father supposedly gave them to her mother before their divorce. Nine roses mean 'I want to be with you forever.'
(3) GoGo's also referring to how her parent's marriage changed over time but how Tadashi's personality stays constant and in a way it makes her feel more secure.