We've Been Here Forever
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep
The rhythmic sound was both comforting and heart-breaking. Each note was filled with hope, the steady beat over time representing a strong heartbeat that in turn signaled his continued existence. It was an announcement that Hiro was still alive. The flip side of the coin, however, was a lot darker, for the very need for the sound was in itself a sign of weakness, a sign of injury, a symbol of just how fragile the life it was heralding truly was.
Tadashi hated it and everything it represented. He hated the beeping, hated the soft whoosh that accompanied it, hated the hospital bed, the sterile covers, the white walls and the antiseptic scent but most of all he hated the sight of the still figure lying before him, pale, lifeless and alone. The only thing he didn't hate were the two black eyes silently watching over them. Baymax's comforting presence was the only thing that kept Tadashi from completely losing it.
Step. Step. Step.
Soft footsteps approached him from behind falling silent at his side. The presence beside him was familiar. The warm scent of baked goods and a soft hand on his shoulder confirmed his suspicion. Tadashi turned towards it and buried his face in Aunt Cass's chest. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, clinging desperately to her, hiding his tears in the fabric of her clothing. "I'm so, so sorry. I should have seen it coming, should have protected him, should have…"
"Hush now." Gentle hands settled softly onto Tadashi's shoulders, drifting lower to embrace him. The action served to both comfort and center him. "It was an accident. I hate to break it to you but you're only human. Like the rest of us. I can't expect you to predict things like this. All we can do is pick up the pieces." Aunt Cass's voice was filled with deep seated pain and sorrow but her inner strength shone through, despite it all. Come hell or high water, she would be the pillar her nephews could lean on as they navigated the rather turbulent seas of their lives.
"I should have stopped him from going in the first place."
"Hiro has always had a mind of his own." Aunt Cass reached up to gently run her fingers through Tadashi's hair. "Brilliant and fiercely independent. A lot like his mother. You and I both know that. He's always been a trouble magnet. It's one of the reasons we love him so much. If he decides he wants to go sky diving, then he damned well is going to go sky diving and no one will be able to talk him out of it. These kinds of accidents are rare but they do happen. It's just unfortunate that it happened to Hiro. Though with the way our lives have been going…"
"Sky diving?" Tadashi glanced up confusion in his eyes.
Aunt Cass hesitated, the hand she'd been using to play with Tadashi's hair, hovering, caught in mid-motion. "Fred told me Hiro had a sky diving accident. Apparently his parachute didn't deploy in time. Though why they let a seventeen year old go sky diving without parental consent, I'll never know."
"Eighteen." The word slipped past Tadashi's lips before he could even think to stop it, his mind racing as it tried to process what his Aunt had said. Sky diving? Really? Tadashi knew Hiro and the team were hiding their super hero activities from Aunt Cass but wasn't sky diving a rather extreme explanation? What had Fred been thinking? Oh, wait a minute; that was the problem. The explanation had come from Fred. Then again; Tadashi glanced back at Hiro' prone form, pale and unmoving on the bed; the explanation did explain the extent of Hiro's injuries…
"What?" Aunt Cass moved her hand to her chest in surprise, staring at Tadashi out of wide shocked eyes. His statement served to distract her from Tadashi's earlier slip.
Tadashi turned his gaze back towards her, sorrow filled dark brown eyes meeting swirling confusion in green. "Hiro turned eighteen a month ago, while still in captivity."
"We missed his birthday?" Aunt Cass asked, the realization that Hiro's birthday had somehow slipped her mind making her sound small, lost and forlorn. With everything that had been going on, she'd completely lost track of time and even though she knew there wasn't really anything she could have done differently, she felt guilty for not even noticing that Hiro was now eighteen.
"Yes." Tadashi confirmed, turning back towards his brother, reaching out to take hold of Hiro's slack hand. "We missed Hiro's birthday but we're going to make it up to him the first chance we get. We're going to throw him the biggest birthday party he ever saw. We'll invite Wasabi, Gogo, Fred and Honey Lemon. You'll make a ton of donuts, chicken wings and a giant gummy bear cake. I will decorate the café. We will fill it with red, purple and black balloons. I'll even make rocket boots for Mochi so he can hover over everyone. Hiro always wanted rocket boots. Maybe I'll make a pair for him as well. We'll get him a stack of gifts. Robotics parts, tools and probably a few more bags of gummy bears. It's going to be awesome. Just you wait and see." Tadashi squeezed Hiro's hand tightly, willing the words to be true, willing his baby brother to get better and willing life in general to give them a break.
"Sound like a plan." Aunt Cass agreed, moving to stand behind him, resting her hands on Tadashi's shoulders. "We'll throw it as soon as he's feeling better. I'll close the café for the day and we can make a whole big thing of it."
"Thanks, Aunt Cass." Tadashi said easing his grip on Hiro's hand to run a finger over his knuckles instead. He fell silent for a moment before adding. "It may be a some time before he's feeling better."
"I know." Aunt Cass sighed, resting her cheek on the top of Tadashi's head. "I spoke to Dr Khan. He uh… He told me about Hiro's injuries. We'll figure this out. Just like we always do. One day at a time." She squeezed Tadashi's shoulders offering silent support and comfort. Although they were mismatched and broken, they were a family and as a family they'd overcome anything life threw at them. Including this.
And so began the vigil. Tadashi and Aunt Cass took turns staying by Hiro's bedside, waiting for the youngest Hamada to re-join the land of the living. Hiro regained consciousness three days later.
- BH6 - BH6 - BH6 –
Ern Estine 13624: Yeah, the two brothers can get through anything as long as they have each other.
CrazyBlueOwl: I'm so glad you feel I have managed to keep the characters going as that was my biggest fear when I started this. I have skimmed through some of the BH6 fanfics out there so I know what you are talking about. There are a few really good ones only those are the ones that get updated far too rarely :(. So I have them on hold until they are further along. Its one of the reasons I started this in the first place as I was going into withdrawal.
Rosycat: The notification gets sent to the email address you used when you registered on this site. Glad you liked the repetition of the sentence. It was meant to cement Tadashi's decision. AS for Hiro's injuries... it is after all the price for bringing Tadashi back.
Guest: It is a nice dream and I really enjoy it when the comment comes from my readers because it means I've written the story well enough to keep the feel of the original. Too many fanfics lose sight of the original work. I believe that if you can change the character names in a fanfic and get it published as an original work you didn't write a very good fanfic.
NotShort: Turns our your part logic, part denial served you well XD. RE: your theories about the future - You are only partially right. :P. That's all I'm willing to say for now. As for the daily updates... that is not how this story started off and is probably not a schedule I'd be able to maintain in the future. I started off with the goal to update this story twice a week. I kept to that schedule but was writing more chapters in between. I kept them in reserve because I was worried things would get super hectic and I would not have time to write over Christmas. Fortunately my work schedule ended up being a lot quieter and I ended up finishing this story - even though the last two chapters too FOREVER! As a result I can now post the remainder of the chapters. I'm posting them this way as I am actually going editing them along the way.
Dreamer: I couldn't have said it better. Hiro is not the same he was all those years ago and Tadashi is going to have to realize that. I'm glad the backward time theory works even though it did end up confusing you a bit. I enjoyed your various theories very much. Thanks for that!
shooting2stars: The poor kid had an awesome family and good friends. They are rooting for him as well!