November 27, 2014

The sound of Baymax squeaking and shuffling grew louder as the nurse-bot neared the bed. Warm light filled the room as Baymax opened up the blinds. When the buzzing of the alarm went off, Hiro promptly turned it off with a resounding smack.

"Good morning, Hiro," Baymax said with a circular wave of his hand. "It is time to wake up."

"You think," Hiro asked sarcastically with a tired smile. He had gotten home late last night since he was trying to finish up a recent upgrading project on his microbots. If Baymax hadn't pestered the teen to go home and rest, Hiro would probably have stayed in the SFIT lab up until the next day.

After getting dressed in his signature tan cargo shorts, navy blue hoodie, and red t-shirt, Hiro bounded down the stairs with Baymax slowly trailing behind.

Aunt Cass was bustling to and from customers in the cafe. The cafe smelled like pumpkin pies, cinnamon, and hot chocolate. Aunt Cass had decorated the cafe very lively in the holiday theme. Red, orange, brown, and yellow leaves were piled as the center pieces of the tables serving as a platform for the miniature pumpkins and miniature turkeys. Even the signature lucky cat sitting next to the cash register was wearing a black pilgrim hat, buckle and all. The festive decorations only served Hiro as reminders of what day it was.

"Good morning my lovely nephew! Good morning, Baymax!"

Before Hiro could dwell on this fact, he felt himself being wrapped in Aunt Cass' warm embrace. He returned the hug with a gentle squeeze of his own.

"Morning, Aunt Cass," he replied with a toothy smile.

She smiled and gave Hiro's nest of hair a ruffle. "Are you heading out?"

Hiro nodded. "I just need to finish up some stuff at the lab and the gang wanted to hang out for a little while."

"Don't stay out too late today. You don't want Thanksgiving dinner to be cold, do you?" Aunt Cass clapped her hands in glee, "I'll make sure to make your favorite spicy chicken wings!"

Hiro returned his aunt's enthusiasm with a soft smile. His thoughts began to drift to drift back to Thanksgivings past. How he and Tadashi would help Aunt Cass make Thanksgiving dinner. How Tadashi would spoil him and sneak him a few extra gummybears once they were up in their room. How Tadashi would tease him when he couldn't reach the cupboard. Tadashi...

He shook his head as if to shake away such thoughts, gave his aunt a final hug, and headed out the door with Baymax in tow.

"What is this Thanksgiving everyone seems to be talking about?" Baymax asked as he was being pulled by Hiro.

Hiro began to slow down until his fleeting steps turned into a slow walk. "Well," he began, "it's a holiday for starters." Baymax gave a nod as he processed the information.

"It's a day to remind yourself what you're thankful for," Hiro continued, "People usually celebrate by having Thanksgiving dinners, like what Aunt Cass is planning. And you celebrate it with your family and sometimes friends..." he trailed off. Hiro stopped walking altogether and stood still. He gripped Baymax's arm a little bit tighter.

"Is something wrong, Hiro?" Baymax asked as he stood behind Hiro.

Hiro  clenched his fist ever so slightly. "It's nothing, Baymax."

"Is it about Tada-"

"I said it's nothing Baymax. Just drop it."

Baymax stayed silent. A squeaking sound could be heard as he wrapped his pillow-like arms around Hiro's small body.

"It is okay to cry. There, there." Baymax said as sympathetically as he could with his robotic voice and stroked Hiro's hair.

Hiro shrugged Baymax off and started to walk. "Let's just get to the lab."

The two continued the rest of their walk to SFIT with moderate conversation. Baymax was curious about when Thanksgiving first began, why it was celebrated with turkeys, how Thanksgiving first became a holiday. To these questions, Hiro promptly told the nurse-bot to go download some data from a computer. When Hiro opened the door to the larger, conjoined lab, he was greeted by students bustling around trying to get as far ahead in projects as they could before the short break for Thanksgiving.

"Hey, Hiro!"

Hiro turned to face a familiar tall blonde girl in a white lab coat with a mustard yellow dress underneath paired with a pair of yellow high heels adding on to her height. With a happy disposition, she tried her best to wave while her hands were full of several beakers and flasks of different colored chemicals. Hiro grimaced slightly at the way the mystery solutions sloshed around inside their glass prisons.

He waved back in a slightly less enthusiastic manner and headed for his personal lab which was previously Tadashi. Baymax seemed content enough staying in the main lab encouraging Honey Lemon and the others to execute caution while working on their projects. Hiro set himself down and picked up where he left off on his microbots the night before. After a while he started to get bored. Without Baymax, his lab was eerily quiet and distracting. To relieve himself of his boredom, he spun around in his chair and doodled new upgrades for Baymax's armor as well as the rest of Big Hero 6's.

Hiro leaned back in his chair and puckered his lips, balancing a pencil between his upper lip and his nose. He looked up towards the clock and frowned. It was only two in the afternoon. His eyes fell slowly downward from the clock to the lab on the desk in front of him. Hanging from the desk lamp was Tadashi's hat with the worn out SF logo. A wave of pain washed over him and wrapped itself around his heart. He reached out and gingerly traced the SF logo and his eyes began to water.

"Hiro."

Hiro fell back in his chair and then onto the floor as Baymax's sudden appearance startled him.

"You have fallen," came Baymax's automatic response.

"I see that, Baymax."

Baymax waddled 0ver to Hiro and picked the boy up by the armpits. After Baymax set him his feet, Hiro brushed himself off, a dull ache running through his lower back.

"You have sustained no injuries. However, your hormone levels indicate-"

Hiro put his hands over Baymax's mouth and shushed the robot. "Okay, okay. That's enough. I really don't need another puberty talk right now." Hiro's eyes flickered to the door that Baymax had left open and hoped none of his friends were nearby.

"You did not let me finish," Baymax stated as he held up a finger. "I meant to say that your hormone levels indicate that you are upset.

"Baymax, I promise everything is fine," Hiro urged. "Now, did you need something? I was kind of busy."

Baymax stared at Hiro for a moment and then looked towards Tadashi's hat hanging on the desk lamp.

"It is time for lunch," Baymax stated and headed out of the room. Hiro sighed. He didn't really feel hungry, plus he wanted to save his appetite for Thanksgiving dinner. Knowing that Baymax would not let up until the boy ate, Hiro followed Baymax into the main lab area.

He spotted Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, Fred, and Baymax seated on the ground besides Fred's chair.

Fred's eyes lit up when he saw the raven haired teen. "We got Chinese!" Fred exclaimed with a pot sticker stuffed in his mouth as he waved Hiro over to come sit down.

Wasabi grimaced. "Fred, really? At least cover your mouth. No one needs to see that."

Fred mumbled a quick apology, covering his hand with his mouth. Hiro took a seat next to Baymax and Gogo in the circle.

"I thought we got Thai," Honey Lemon said quizzically as she munched on an egg roll.

Fred shrugged. "Same difference."

"There's kind of a difference," Wasabi piped in.

"They're all the same to me. No offense, Gogo."

"I'm Japanese, not Chinese. Say 'same difference' again, and I'll hurt you," came Gogo's snark reply as she saw Fred's mouth open to speak again. Which he quickly shut, not wanting to face Gogo's wrath.

While watching his friends argue, Hiro picked up a single egg roll and put it on his paper plate.

"Will you only be eating one, Hiro?" Baymax asked in dismay. "Your growing body needs a balance of proper diet and exercise."

"I'll eat more tonight," Hiro promised as he pat Baymax on the shoulder. "I'm saving room for dinner."
"Oh man, I'm soooooooo excited for tonight!" Fred exclaimed. "My dad's coming home this year! I'm so pumped to actually spend Thanksgiving with him!"

"That's really great, Fred," Honey Lemon said with a kind smile.

Fred nodded his head enthusiastically. "So what are your guys' plans?"

Honey Lemon and Wasabi happily told their friends of their Thanksgiving plans with their families. Hiro smiled politely at his friends' enthusiasm, half listening to their conversation. His eyes fell upon GoGo who stared back and blew a bubble. Through Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred's conversation she had been silent. Hiro's eyebrows raised slightly as if to silently ask why she wasn't joining in. In return, Hiro got a shrug and a popped bubble.

"I have to go guys," Honey Lemon said as she picked shed her white lab coat and picked up her purse. "Still have to make dinner."

"Same here guys," Wasabi said as he put on a faded denim jacket.

Fred picked up his longboard and patted Hiro's head. "I gotta go too. Don't wanna be late when my dad comes home.

The three left the lab leaving GoGo, Hiro, and Baymax on their own.

"So, what are you doing today," Hiro asked, trying to break the awkward silence between the two.

GoGo shrugged. "I didn't really have anything planned for today."

Hiro didn't question her further. He didn't want to pry into her personal life. "If you're not busy, you should stop by the cafe."

GoGo smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'll think about it."

"Hiro, your aunt would like you to come home now," Baymax said as he stood over Hiro. Hiro looked at GoGo silently asking if it was alright to leave.

"I'll be fine. I'm gonna give my bike a little tune up."

Hiro and Baymax left the lab. Before he closed the door, Hiro saw GoGo through the small crack. True to her word, she went back to work on her bike. He closed the door fully and headed out with Baymax.

"GoGo seems lonely, does she not?" Baymax asked curiously.

"I guess so..." Hiro answered. "But it doesn't seem like she minds."

Baymax was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. "Humans confuse me," he concluded.

"They confuse me too, buddy," Hiro said with a toothy grin.

When they got back to the cafe, Hiro found that Aunt Cass closed up early. He went in through the front door and went upstairs, Baymax following behind. He snickered softly as he remembered the time He had to drag Baymax home while Baymax was low on battery. He had yet to tell Aunt Cass that story.

Hiro walked into the kitchen only to see Aunt Cass setting the turkey on the table.

When she saw Hiro, her eyes lit up. "Hey, sweetie. You're home just in time!"

"Glad I am," Hiro said with his mouth watering. He sat down at his normal place at the table and Aunt Cass took her seat right across from him.

To lighten the mood, he told Aunt Cass funny stories about how Fred nearly set Wasabi's hair on fire while they were trying out new suit upgrades and how GoGo accidentally knocked a guy out at the park trying to return his frisbee by throwing it at him. Baymax helped the poor guy, Hiro assured Aunt Cass, and GoGo did apologize. It was still really funny.

In return, Aunt Cass shared her own funny stories about her day at the cafe. One man threw a tantrum when a Christmas song started to play so she had to hastily change it before the man threw something.

"I'm used to seeing people bring their laptops into the cafe, but one guy tried to come in with his whole desktop!" Aunt Cass laughed and covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter in order to continue her story.

"Did you let him in?" Hiro asked with a chuckle.

"Of course I did! I value each and every one of my customers, even if they're a little nutty. They're the reason we have electricity in this house." Aunt Cass joked and let out a light chuckle when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Aunt Cass rose to answer the door leaving Hiro and Baymax alone.

"Hiro, look who decided to drop by!" Aunt Cass ran in, dragging an unamused GoGo with her.

"GoGo?" Hiro tilted his head.

"So... Am I too late to join in?" GoGo asked as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

"No, no, of course not! We're so happy to have you here!"

Aunt Cass motioned for GoGo to sit down as she sat back down across from Hiro. GoGo was about to sit down at the seat to the right of Hiro's when he reached out and grabbed her arm.

"That's.... That's Tadashi's seat..." Hiro mumbled softly enough for only GoGo to hear him. She complied and sat to the left of him instead.

Baymax chose that time to peek his head out from the top of the staircase. The three at the table chuckled at the nurse-bot's antics.

"Why don't you join us, Baymax?" Aunt Cass suggested.

"I thought that Thanksgiving was to be celebrated with friends and family," came Baymax's reply.

Hiro chuckled. "You are family, silly."

Baymax waddled down the stairs and moved to join the three at the table. The only available seat was the one to the right of Hiro. As Baymax squeezed himself into the seat, Hiro shifted slightly in his seat. GoGo squeezed his shoulder gently making him feel a bit more relaxed.

Baymax encouraged them to eat a balanced meal, particularly Hiro. He had gotten halfway through the puberty speech before Hiro threatened that he wouldn't eat until Baymax stopped, much to GoGo and Aunt Cass' amusement.

"I'll clean up here, you two. Why don't you show GoGo around?" Aunt Cass suggested as she and Baymax took the empty dishes to the sink.

Hiro nodded and led GoGo up the flight of steps leading directly to his bedroom. "Just to warn you, I didn't expect anyone to come over so my room's kind of a mess. Watch your step," Hiro warned. When they reached the top of the steps, Hiro hurriedly picked up the scraps of paper and tools lying on the floor and crammed them into a large pile on top of his desk.

GoGo looked around the room from where she stood at the top of the steps. Hiro's half of the room was quite messy. Clothes were strewn about here and there, diagrams and blueprints were scattered over his bed. Her eyes flickered over to the cleaner side of the room which she assumed was Tadashi's. The bamboo divider had been pulled open. His side looked untouched as if to preserve every bit of Tadashi's memory. 

While Hiro continued to clean up his mess, GoGo picked up what seemed like an innocent looking large version of Hiro's microbots with a yellow face and a slightly demented grin from Hiro's desk. 

"What this?" She asked as she looked at the invention from different angles.

Hiro looked up after he set the pile of blueprints on his desk. "Oh that? That's just my old battle bot, Megabot."

"Were you any good?"

Hiro crossed his arms and smirked. "Undefeated."

GoGo let out a low whistle as she set down the battle bot. "You should show me some time."

"Nah, I gave up that life for SFIT," Hiro said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Plus I kind of make an honest living now. You know, as a super hero and stuff."

"Oh yes, the ever infamous turning point where the villain renounces his life of crime for the greater good," GoGo said sarcastically and took a seat on Hiro's bed.

Hiro chuckled as he sat next to GoGo.

"You know, Tadashi would come into the lab with a new story to tell about how he saved you from a bunch of angry bot fighters," GoGo said as she leaned back on her hands.

"Yeah, he'd always scold me and stuff, but I never listened until he showed me how awesome SFIT was..." Hiro sighed and pulled his knees into his chest.

GoGo wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "What's on your mind?" 

"I can't stop thinking about what would happen if things were different... What if I didn't take so long to decide to go to SFIT? What if I didn't decide to go to SFIT? What if I held onto Tadashi for just a little bit longer? What if-"

GoGo stopped Hiro's rambling by pulling him into a tight hug. "You can't change the past, Hiro. No matter how much you really want to. Even if things were different, there still would have been destruction. Callaghan still would have tried to get his revenge on Krei. If things were different, we might not have stopped Callaghan. We might not even be Big Hero 6. I'm not saying it's a good thing that Tadashi died. But think of the good things that happened because of him."

Hiro hugged her back just as tight and sniffled quietly. "Even when he's gone, he's still doing good...."

"Your brother was such a goody-two-shoes," GoGo said with a scoff as she stroked Hiro's hair. The two laughed and GoGo wiped away the tears running down Hiro's cheeks.

"Feel better now?" she asked.

Hiro nodded quickly. "A lot. Thank you, GoGo."

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November 27, 2014

GoGo decided to join Aunt Cass and I for Thanksgiving. It was tough not having Tadashi next to me, but a part of him was. He'll never be truly gone. After all, he's still in Baymax's memory chip, heheh... I'll always miss him, but GoGo made me realize something very important. Tadashi was a good person. And because of him, the team and I figured out Callaghan's plan and stopped him from causing mass destruction. His death was not a lost cause and it never will be. I'll make sure of that.

I'm thankful for my brother. I'll treasure every memory I have of him. He was always thinking of me, even when I was being the worst little brother ever. Even after he died, he still thought of me. He didn't leave me lonely. Because of him, I have my friends and I have Baymax.

You're the best big brother ever, Tadashi. I love you, big bro.