Hiro looked around the park, having lost the argument with Tadashi and gotten dragged along anyway to the picnic. Apparently, Mari had been so excited to show him her new puppy, and Tadashi had already gotten confirmation from Honey Lemon and Fred that they wanted to tag along before Hiro could tell them they weren't going. Gogo and Wasabi would have come too, but they had already planned something together, though they mentioned they might pop by later. Everyone was so happy to hear that Hiro was okay with the excursion.

He wasn't.

However, he wasn't about to tell them that after the six, paragraph long texts from Honey Lemon encouraging him that it would be alright, and that they'd be sure to keep an eye on Tadashi. She was proud of him for beginning to move past his fears, and a mix of pride and guilt kept Hiro from backing out or correcting them in that it had been Tadashi's doing…

…that sneaky brat.

Taking a calming breath, careful not to brush along the form of breathing that could potentially create fire, Hiro picked out Tadashi where he and Mari were entertaining the small golden retriever puppy. 'Scout' was his official name, but Buttercup was what Mari insisted on calling him. This wasn't too bad, and with Honey Lemon grabbing snow cones and sandwiches for all of them, and Fred making friends with every dog they came across, things almost felt… normal.

Hiro had to be careful. Even with the multiple eyes on Tadashi, all it would take would be one mistake…

Looking around at the people near them, Hiro attempted to make judgements on what they probably did and made random guesses at their names. It might help later if anything were to happen.

That was… Jane. She probably taught kids or led an art class with the way she was dressed.

He was getting named… uh… Mushu. Yeah, like the dragon from that one movie. He sells books for a living.

And so on. The practice was almost calming, forming these people into things that weren't dangerous, and yet still getting their faces in his memory… just in case. A group of teenagers with brightly dyed hair were all named after planets, and the old man could be their shared grandfather. Yeah. Hiro chuckled, shaking his head. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Tadashi and Mari rejoined them at the blanket, Scout bouncing along behind them. The dog nipped at a butterfly and Mari scolded him, saying the butterfly was his friend.

"Having fun?" Hiro asked, weaving two pieces of grass together absentmindedly.

Tadashi's grin was answer enough, but Hiro didn't really know what else to say. Conversation had never been his strong point, at least as far as small talk went.

Tadashi nodded, petting Scout roughly so that the dog playfully nipped at his hands. "Too bad Mochi doesn't like it outside. She'd probably run off though…"

Tadashi looked like he was considering something, turning to look up at Hiro. "Do you think we could get a dog? We'd have to train it not to bark at people or pee in the house, but it can't be that much harder than Mochi."

"Dunno, we'd need to ask Aunt Cass." The idea wasn't a bad one, and Hiro figured if they could get a guard dog, all the better. Something to watch the house while Baymax was charging or away… yeah, that might be good.

Mari bounced in place, nodding fervently, pulling the puppy towards her. "If you did, if you did, they could be best friends, just like us!"

Best friends? Hiro looked between Mari and Tadashi. He supposed kids tended to exaggerate, but surely they weren't… She was just someone to hang out with, Tadashi's real friends were the ones from SFIT. That was all he needed anyway, he'd been happy enough before.

"Like I said, it's up to her." Hiro shrugged, catching the sandwich Fred tossed his way. "Not my house."

"Aww… okay." Mari frowned, taking an unsure answer as a 'no.'

Angela joined them, folding her legs underneath her as she pulled the crust off of Mari's sandwich. "Mari, have you put on sunscreen since we got here?"

"…no…" Mari folded her hands together, looking down at her lap.

Sighing at her younger sister's forgetfulness, Angela dug in her bag, pulling out a tube and applying it generously to the already sun-tinged face. "You're going to be covered in freckles by the time summer is over."

"But they're my spots!" Mari insisted, scrunching her face. "You're gonna get it in my eyes…" She whined.

"I won't, I'm being careful." Angela nodded when she finished, turning to Tadashi, but speaking to Hiro. "Does he need some? I have plenty extra."

"No, it's fine." Hiro answered before thinking. While it was true that Tadashi didn't need sunscreen anymore, since he couldn't physically burn, just about everyone else did. Way to draw attention to it, Hiro. "Um, we put on the long lasting stuff before we left. He should be good unless he sweats it off." Again, which he wouldn't, anyway. The no-sweating thing was a bit more obvious, but no one had called them on it.

"Oh, okay." Angela tucked the sunscreen away, accepting the excuse. "What kind is it? I might look into it, since Mari insists that stopping to reapply is so terrible."

"I don't remember. I don't pay attention to what it's called." Hiro fibbed.

Angela shrugged. "Do you remember the color of the bottle? I might be able to find it."

"Uh… orange." Hiro had to keep the annoyance out of his voice. She couldn't just drop it? Why was she making this difficult?

"Alright, cool."

Hiro nodded, looking away. The annoyance was sparking fire in his chest again, and Hiro knew he needed to let it out soon or there could be some dire consequences. There had been a close call in the café back in January, and since then he'd made sure to take care of things before they got out of hand.