Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One: 

Hiro smirked and swung the microphone around and he leaned back. The crowd was screaming, and the noise clashed so well with the heavy thrum of the speakers and buzzing from the stage effects. 

“ Tonight we are’- ” 

“VICTORIOUS!” 

“ CHAMPAGNE POURING OVER US !”  He crooned, catching a glimpse of Fred as he slammed on the drums. The teal paint they’d put on the tops splashed up around him with perfect timing as Honey Lemon’s guitar riff hit the peak. 

“ Tonight, ” Hiro whispered, standing up over the microphone and looking right into the crowd. “ We are vic-tor-i-ous… ” 

The crowd screamed again, louder this time. Hiro smiled as he turned to the rest of the band, who were smiling the same. It didn’t matter how many times they played, the crowd never managed to stop hyping them up. 

“Thank you, Austin Texas!” Hiro yelled, causing another loud round of cheers. “You’ve been great tonight!”

“ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!”

Hiro shrugged and turned to his right, where Gogo was holding her bass loosely. 

“Tomago, my lungs are shot, you wanna do this?” 

She laughed and took the microphone, handing Hiro her bass instead. The crowd whooped loudly, and some of the teens started to profess their declarations of love for the Korean musician. 

“The mirror’s image, tells me it's home time…” 

Hiro and Honey Lemon picked up on the song, starting with the chords as Fred and Wasabi joined in. Gogo smirked and moved with the beat, hitting the notes with her entire body. The crowd ate it up, shrieking as she sang one of the band’s best hits. 

“Now it's three in the morning, and I’m tryin’ to change your mind…” 

Hiro wasn’t the best as the bass, but this song was fairly easy to get through. He glanced over the crowd, letting the waving phone lights and pumped up dancing fuel him. Hiro wasn’t really a social person, but he loved performing for others. 

“Sorta feels like I’m running out of time, I haven’t found all I was hoping to find…” 

Hiro glanced over to the side, where he could see his brother standing right off stage. He had an annoyed but amused look on his face. He knew full well that Hiro’s voice wasn’t gone and that he could go on for hours. He just wanted to make Gogo sing. 

“WHY’D YOU ONLY EVER CALL ME WHEN YOU’RE HIGH?! WHY’D YOU ONLY EVER CALL ME WHEN YOU’RE HIIIIIIGH!?!” 

Hiro laughed a little as Gogo hit the climax and the crowd practically howled. There was a reason he’d wanted her to sing after all. The woman had a set of lungs on her. 

Gogo finished the song and rolled her head back a little, smirking wider. The crowd was screaming again, but Big Hero 6 bowed a little and walked off stage. Fred stayed where he was, and started to play one of his ‘after gig jams’ which would help signal to the crowd that the show was well and truly over. It was also a great way to use up the rest of the drum paint. 

“You guys let them get away with too much,” Their manager chided, giving a pointed look in Hiro’s direction. The younger man shrugged. 

“Dashi, don’t act like you didn’t do the same thing,” He said. “Besides, it’s Gogo’s best song,” 

“He’s right about that,” The bassist said, bumping Tadashi with her hip. “Now, I want to go drink, and then I want to crash,” 

“Great idea!” Hiro said, smirking at his brother and running a bit ahead of the group. “GOGO DRIVES!” 

“Nobody but me is driving my car!” Wasabi yelled, running to catch up to his bandmates. Honey Lemon smiled at Tadashi, and took her guitar off and set it down. 

“I’m going to wait for Freddy,” She said. Her long blonde hair was slick with sweat from the show, and her rose tinted glasses glittered a bit. The young woman glanced back on stage, where Fred was finishing the solo. Tadashi smiled. 

“I’ll drive you two back to the hotel,” He said. “Just don’t make out the entire time,” 

Honey Lemon blushed bright red. 

Tadashi laughed. 

“Party!” Fred whooped as he, Honey Lemon and Tadashi entered the hotel rooms. Gogo nodded and held up her beer in agreement, leaving it wide open to be snatched by Tadashi. 

“Hey!” She slurred, slumping over the side of her chair in a pointless attempt to get the bottle back. “Sabi, he stole my beer,” 

Wasabi groaned and leaned back against his chair, draping an arm over his face. 

“Before you all get too wasted, remember that the label wants to see some new song progress,” Tadashi reminded, taking a swig of Gogo’s drink. “And Hiro, as one of the chief songwriters, it's on you,” 

Hiro groaned. He hadn’t been able to write a good song in months, but had been relying on the tour to cover him. 

Big Hero 6 had gotten popular over a short amount of time, mostly due to their second album ‘Baymax’. Before that, Hiro hadn’t been a part of the band at all. Tadashi was actually the lead singer, but he’d been hospitalized after a fire. Big Hero 6 had been very close to falling apart after the accident, but Hiro was able to take his older brother's spot. He’d even introduced a new vibe to the band, using songs he’d written while Tadashi was in recovery. 

Their biggest hit - Immortals - had pushed the band into stardom so fast, they’d become a worldwide phenomenon almost overnight. 

“I’ll get to it later Dashi,” Hiro mumbled, reaching for a beer but grabbing a coke can when Wasabi intercepted him. “One brand new, awesome song when we get back to practice,” 

Two Weeks Later: 

“That’s it, I’m screwed,” 

“What’s wrong with this one?” Wasabi asked, giving Hiro an odd look as the younger boy thumped his head on the table. 

“The lyrics suck,” Gogo interrupted, plucking the paper from Wasabi, who mildly swatted at her. “He’s done way better,” 

“Maybe it could use some work…?” Honey Lemon asked. Fred shook his head. 

“Not the right… anything. Man, Hiro-buddy, you doing okay?” 

“I’ve lost all passion I’ve ever had,” Hiro moaned. “I can’t write for shit, the lyrics are shit, we’re going to sound like shit-” 

“Hamada. We aren’t going to sound like anything if you don’t write a half decent song.” Gogo said, throwing the now crumpled piece of paper into the air. 

“Hiro take a break,” Tadashi said, swooping in to save the day. “We’ll work on some musical themes we want, or someone else could write a song ,” 

The group devolved into chaos as Wasabi and Gogo started to argue about their songwriting abilities compared to Hiros, while Honey Lemon and Fred started to aimlessly pick out some sequences on their instruments. 

Hiro ducked out of the room, heading towards the vending machines. Maybe a snack would kick start his ideas again. 

He slumped down on a bench and pulled out his phone, opening it to Instagram and letting his recommended page load up. He clicked onto his lurker account - one that the fans didn’t realize was him - and started scrolling through the stuff tagged Big Hero 6. 

Most were pictures from their last concert - the one in Austin. They were mostly college kids dressed in rave wear and the band's shirts. Some had an interesting face paint design, and Hiro realized it was the band’s logo. He liked those and forwarded some of the best ones to the official band account. 

There was some of the normal fanart, nothing too impressive, but he liked those anyway. He wanted to be supportive after all. Hiro took a drink from his coke and almost spit it out when he scrolled down again. 

“Woah…” He breathed. He’d seen a lot of art of the band, even before he’d joined. He’d been the social media manager until Tadashi’s accident, and nothing he’d ever seen compared to this. 

It was a painting of him. 

Hiro could tell it was his first concert - the one right after the accident. His hair was just a bit too long because he hadn’t cut it, and there were dark circles under his eyes. The artist had captured every curve of his face perfectly, including the little expression where his tongue stuck out a little from his teeth, pushing against the gap. He looked scared and at peace, but that wasn’t the surprising part. 

The background was a swirl of colors. Hiro could pick out silhouettes of the other members, all created by different colors of paint. Hiro himself was the only one done realistically, and together, the art piece shone with emotion. 

Hiro liked, saved, and forwarded it to the official account. Before he could stop himself, he’d clicked on the artist's profile and sent them a DM. 

Mega_Bots: I just saw your BH6 art. It’s EPIC! U a big fan? 

Hiro clicked send, then tapped back to the artist’s page. The artist - Color_3motion - didn’t list their name, only electing to put ‘Anderson’ in the last name slot. Anderson was too common a name to raise any suspicion anyways. 

He scrolled through the rest of the posts, nodding in appreciation as he looked at pictures similar to the first one. All with spirals of color that fit together perfectly, and all overwhelming with emotions. 

Mega_Bots: The rest of your art is awesome too. Wow man, you deserve WAY more recognition. 

Hiro finished his coke and shut off his phone, feeling a little awkward about gushing so much to a complete stranger. Before he could completely beat himself up and go back into practice, he reopened his phone and followed Anderson, resolving to look at more art later. He still had no ideas for the next song, but he walked back into the practice room, ready to listen to the others and try whatever came to mind. 

“Riley, come on! We’re gonna be late!” 

Riley’s eyes blinked open and she sat up woozily, cringing from the crick in her neck and back. She’d fallen asleep at her desk again, and now she was paying for it. 

“RILEY!” 

Riley sat straight up, almost smacking her head into the overhanging shelf above her. She accidentally knocked over some of her paint bottles and brushes, but she ignored those as she scrambled for her phone, backpack and sweater. 

“RILEYYYY!” 

“I’M COMING TIP!” Riley shrieked back, tripping over her undone shoelaces and yanking the dorm room door open. Outside, she was met with a short Carribean girl who stood expectantly, phone in hand, sipping a coffee with the other.

“Riley Jillian Anderson, you are going to be late to your first class and you’re lucky I’m here to keep you going!” Tip Tucci chastised. Like many of their fellow college students, Gratuity Tucci dressed in a SFIT sweatshirt and jeans. She wore a pair of fuzzy boots and her hair was twisted up into a half-up half-down style. 

“Thank you Gratuity Rina Tucci,” Riley muttered. “Why weren’t you here last night?” 

Tip rolled her eyes and took a drink of her coffee. 

“You were asleep when I got back, and I went to get this, you were still out,” Tip said, gesturing with her cup. “I thought you were going to stop pulling all nighters for art projects,” 

Riley groaned and rubbed her head as the two walked into the bright morning light. She wanted to argue, but she also knew that she needed to find a real sleep schedule. Tip continued to chatter, and Riley let the blossoms of avocado that she attributed with her roommate fall to the sides of her vision. 

Tip dropped Riley at her first class, and went onto her own. Riley made it to her seat before class officially started at eight, and got set up for class. With about five minutes to kill before the class officially started, she then pulled out her phone, opening it up to Instagram. 

“Woah…” She breathed, staring at the little notification at the bottom of the page. 100+ likes? She knew the power of fandoms, but this was kind of insane. Her ‘Anderson’ page was relatively new - a project for her major - and she hadn’t even finished setting it up yet! The last she’d checked, she’d had less than thirty followers, and the last piece she’d posted was… the Big Hero 6 fanart. 

Riley’s thumb hovered over the notification button, but she was cut off by her teacher walking into the classroom and starting the lecture. Shutting her phone off and slipping it into her bag, Riley leaned over to grab her pens, devoting all her energy to focusing on the lecture as different colors started to flood her vision. 

Riley finished her class without any problems, and forgot about the instagram hype when she left to go find Tip in the commons. She slipped her headphones (which had luckily been shoved into her bag) up over her ears, letting her normal playlist resume. 

Riley considered herself a good fan of Big Hero 6. It wasn’t like she was a sicko-freak like some of the other girls she’d seen at concerts. She’d never even considered doing some of the crazy stuff they did. 

Her friends would disagree. Riley Anderson had probably been in love with the whole band from the moment their first album came out. She’d been a junior in high school, but the music had resonated with her, and it was everything she talked about for a whole three months. Riley and Tip had actually met over their shared love of the band, and spent many weekends taking on extra shifts at work to get good tickets when the band rolled back into town. 

“RILEY!” 

A bloom of avocado burst in front of Riley’s eyes and she turned, waving as she spotted Tip and her other friends. Making her way across the grass, Riley slid onto the ground, letting her bag drop next to her. 

“Rough class?” Violet asked sympathetically, causing a halo of dark purple that highlighted the girls dark hair and eyes. 

“That is an excellent question!” The boy in her lap mumbled, words muddled from the comic book that laid open on his face. Riley cringed a bit as his words (normally orange) came out as an ugly diluted color. 

“Wilbur, she wasn’t talking to you!” The last girl said, rubbing the head of a fluffy white dog. Riley couldn’t help but smile as a happy coral associated itself with Penny’s voice. 

Like Tip, Riley had met most of her friends through their shared love of music. Wilbur and Violet (who were dating) were into some of the older, classic bands, but both sported the occasional ‘Dragonfate’ merch. Penny was more into pop, but was able to enjoy the other’s choices. All five liked Big Hero 6, but none as much as Riley. 

“Hey did you guys see all that traction from the latest BH6 concert?” Tip asked, sipping from her coffee. 

“Oh yeah, that new makeup trend?” Violet asked. “It looks fun,” 

“I saw that they were actually posting some of the best ones to their page,” Tip added. 

“Oh snap!” Riley muttered, rooting around in her bag for her phone and opening it. “Woah…” 

“What?” Tip asked. Riley gaped, staring down at the messages showing hundreds of likes on her post. There were several comments, reshares and just so many likes. 

“Riley, Riley…” Wilbur muttered, sitting up and waving a hand in front of her. Riley didn’t notice. “ Rainbow .” 

Blinking at the nickname, Riley looked up at her friends. Then, she slowly turned the phone around. 

“I’m not even a popular artist,” She mumbled. “But…” 

“BIG HERO 6 REPOSTED YOUR ART!?” Tip shrieked. 

“That’s awesome Riley!” Violet chimed in. “You deserve it, your art is so good!” 

Riley spaced out a little as her friends started talking, turning them out as she scrolled through the endless likes and comments. The group's conversation turned back to the latest concert, and they started to debate getting tickets for the next one. 

“I don’t think I’ll have enough saved by then,” Tip muttered. “I don’t want to bother my mom either,” 

“I could always lend you it-” Wilbur offered, but Violet cut him off. 

“If we nail the next few gigs, we won’t have to worry at all,” The girl said, reclining back into Wilburs side. “And we will. Everyone here is a musical beast .” 

Riley blinked, noticing the tiny message icon on her screen. 

‘ One Request’ 

She clicked the tab, opening to a new chat, where a completely new user had messaged her. 

Mega_Bots: I just saw your BH6 art. It’s EPIC! U a big fan? 

Mega_Bots: The rest of your art is awesome too. Wow man, you deserve WAY more recognition. 

Riley smiled a bit. Her art had a very specialized feel, mostly from how she incorporated her synesthesia. Most of the time, people told her to take out colors, not that it looked good as is. Mega_Bots also seemed like a BH6 fan, which she appreciated. 

So, she clicked accept and replied. 

Color_3motion: Thx! BH6 is one of my favorite inspirations, so I’m glad this piece got so much traction. 

Color_3motion: BH6 reposted it actually. THAT was a dream come true. 

Maybe she was oversharing a bit to an online stranger, but Riley didn’t really mind. There was something about the complete anonymity that calmed her. 

She put her phone away and turned back to her friends.

After a day of (unsuccessful) practice and a little bit of partying, Hiro collapsed into his bed and let out a loud sigh. He rolled over and groaned as his phone stuck into his side. Fishing it out of his pocket, Hiro opened it and tapped onto the Instagram icon. 

Was he hoping that Anderson had responded? 

Luckily, he didn’t have to answer that question, as there was a little notification to signal a message. Hiro smiled a bit as he read the replies. 

Color_3motion: Thx! BH6 is one of my favorite inspirations, so I’m glad this piece got so much traction. 

Color_3motion: BH6 reposted it actually. THAT was a dream come true. 

Hiro quickly typed out a response. 

Mega_Bots: Dream come true? 

It was a  bit of an ego boost, but he was pretending to be a fellow fan, and it wasn’t like Anderson could call him out. Hiro was about to flip the phone off when a reply from Anderson appeared. 

Color_3motion: Definitely. I’ve been a huge BH6 fan since their first album, and I can’t get enough of their songs

Color_3motion: Sorry, that's a little much

Mega_Bots: No, no, no, it's fine! I love hearing ‘origin’ stories. 

That was true. He did like hearing origin stories, whether it was superheroes or scientists. Honestly, the music ones were pretty basic, but he enjoyed them anyway. 

Color_3motion: Awe thx! Guess I should keep going, huh? 

Mega_Bots: If you want… 

There was a beat, and Hiro worried that he’d scared Anderson off. 

Color_3motion: So… I have synesthesia? You would have already known if you’d read my bio, but for me, it means voices and music have different colors associated in my brain. And I see those colors around the people when they speak. 

Color_3motion: Example: my friend’s voice is this avocado green color? That's usually a fog around her shoulders when I’m looking at her. For another friend, she’s dark blue, and it’s a halo. It's a bit of a medical mystery.

Color_3motion: But it makes my art super unique. I like to use the colors I see for different pieces. 

Mega_Bots: That's pretty sick. 

It was. Hiro was legitimately impressed. He briefly wondered what his voice would be, but Anderson was already replying. 

Color_3motion: It used to get me bullied, but I’ve learned to accept it by now. You got any dark origin stories? 

Mega_Bots: No, I live a fairly normal life. I have a big brother, and he and his friends usually hang out with me. I’m no good at art though 

Color_3motion: Art is a bunch of stuff! Music is an art! Are you good at that? 

Mega_Bots: Other people think I am. Haven’t been feeling it lately though 

Color_3motion: I bet your music is awesome! 

Hiro smiled at the complement. Clearly, Anderson was the type of person to hype up anyone they  met. He typed back. The conversation veered off into other hobbies and interests, and it was close to one A.M. when Anderson signed off. 

Hiro tried to go to sleep himself, but his head was swirling. After a few minutes, he leaned over to turn the light off, leaving him in the dark. He smiled a little to himself, a few new lyrics suddenly popped into his head. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: 

Riley smiled at her phone and quickly replied to a new message. She’d been talking to Mega_Bots for three weeks now, and they’d spent hours sharing different facts about themselves. During those weeks, school had gotten more intense, but she’d had a burst of energy to put into her art, and her Anderson page had started getting more popular - probably from the influx of BH6 fans. 

“What’s got you so happy?” Tip asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the messages. “Is it a boy?” 

“N-no!” Riley stuttered, face turning red. “It's an art friend,” 

“An art friend.” Tip said, obviously not convinced. “Yeah right,” 

“It’s true!” Riley protested. “Come on, we’re gonna be late anyways,” 

The girls hopped off the city bus at their stop and walked until they hit a large house and gate. The Robinson’s were insanely rich, but the gate wasn’t for their protection. Mostly it was to protect other people from Cornelius’s rogue inventions. Once inside the gate, they headed towards the basement, where they were meeting the rest of their friends. 

Wilbur ushered them inside, where Penny was aimlessly tapping out beats on her keyboard and Violet tuned her bass. Tip slipped behind the drum set after dropping her backpack on the floor, and Wilbur picked his guitar up. 

Riley rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes as the various sounds created a mess of colors and shapes in her vision. This happened everytime they tuned their instruments, but it was part of the process. 

“Everyone ready?” Violet said. When everyone nodded, she counted everyone off and started the bassline. Wilbur and Tip joined in soon after, then Penny. Riley counted herself in silently before starting her part. 

Like always, the song finished too quickly. Riley missed the swirl of colors when they died back as the music faded, but new ones replaced them as Violet kicked off a new song. They ran through their set, then settled back into the beanbags and couches around the basement to talk. 

“I am happy to announce…” Wilbur grinned, letting the girls start a round of drum rolling. Tip rolled her eyes and hit the notes on the actual drum set, and Wilbur nodded it off. “We have a gig,” 

The room exploded. 

“What?!”

“We do?!” 

“Where?!” 

Wilbur grinned again, then reclined back and threw his arms over the back of the couch. 

“Snuggly Duckling,” He said. “I applied when their band apps opened up and we got in!” 

“That’s where Dragonfate first performed!” Penny squealed. “Well, Dragonfate now,”

“They’re huge for bands!” Violet gushed. “This is our moment!” 

“Yes!” Riley whooped. “We’re in!” 

Color_3motion: Y’know how we were talking about art and music? Well I've got some big news - I’m playing a gig at the Snuggly Duckling in two weeks! 

Mega_Bots: What? No way! That’s huge! 

Color_3motion: Yeah! 

Color_3motion: I know you said you’re based in the SF area, if you’re interested, we play at 8? 

Hiro looked down at his phone in surprise. Had she really just invited him to see her band play? He’d never had a friend like this who wasn’t already tied to his brother. Was inviting internet friends to bar concerts what college kids normally did? 

A little uncertain, Hiro asked Tadashi if he could get the weekend off. His brother was confused, but let him go. When the friday finally rolled around, Hiro grabbed a loose but non descript sweatshirt and baseball cap to hide his face. He took a trolley up to the bar, where he got off and joined the crowd waiting for the show. 

He got a burger and plate of fries, then munched on them in the corner while the band set up. He wasn’t sure which one was Anderson, since there were four different girls on stage. 

He knew she was supposed to be the signer, but it was too early to tell. The one boy in the group wore a dress shirt with a loose tie and suspenders, and was fiddling with amps with a dark haired girl in all black and iridescent blue. As they were setting up, she moved over to check the sound on a bass, so he crossed her off the list. 

The second girl was twirling drumsticks between her fingers and talking to the third as the redhead settled at a keyboard. Both seemed lively and energetic, but they were the wrong instruments. 

So that left the blonde. 

Her hair was mostly loose, just with two tiny pigtails at the top. The ends were stained a dark blue, like she was growing out her hair dye. She was wearing a bright and colorful rainbow sequin top under a leather jacket and dark jeans, and when the set started and Inside Out started to play, her voice was…

“You hate, you scream, you swear, but still you never re-ach the-em,” 

Gorgeous. 

Hiro grinned and leaned forward as Anderson and her band ran through their set. They might be a little unpolished (but what garage band wasn’t?) but their stage presence and musicality was really good. He could feel the chemistry between the members, and they all clearly loved making music. 

“The nowhere lane, the nowhere train for Elaine, Elaine Elaine!” 

Hiro left the show before the last call rush, then came back to his hotel hyped up and ready to actually write a song. They had an early start tomorrow, so the others were asleep, but Hiro pulled out a notebook and started squibbling. 

He slept on the bus ride. 

Big Hero 6 was kicking off their next tour, and wouldn’t be back in San Fransokyo for the next six months. Hiro was a little disappointed to be further from Anderson, but kept talking to her - more now that he had a face to connect her too. 

 Color_3motion: BH6 went back on tour! I missed the last time they were here, so I NEED to make this concert. 

Mega_Bots: What, do I need to find bootleg tickets for you? 

Bootleg tickets. Ha, if she knew who he was, he could just send her VIPs and get her backstage or front row. 

Color_3motion: What? No! Wil’s already on it. He’s a ticket master machine. 

Color_3motion: Wil’s one of my friends. 

Color_3motion: Not boyfriend. 

Color_3motion: That’s oversharing. Sorry 

Hiro grinned and went back to writing his songs. 

“Okay guys, I don’t really do this… especially on this account… but it’s important,” 

Hiro’s mouth dropped open as a video of Anderson opened up on his feed. She was sitting on her bed, the wall behind her covered in her signature colorful artstyle, and holding a small acoustic guitar in her lap. 

“This song is for someone special… okay Mega_Bots?”

Oh… she wrote this for him. 

“Boy you came like a hurricane, knocked me down like a tidal wave,” 

She flipped her hair back a little as she sang, and Hiro noticed that she’d edited a filter over the song to match the different colors she was probably seeing. 

“Didn’t see you coming so quick, or that you were moving so slick,” 

Color_3motion: Hey. I didn’t scare you off, did I?

Mega_Bots: No! It was really sweet. Nobody’s ever done anything like that for me before 

Color_3motion: I… think we should meet up.

Color_3motion: Were you planning to see the BH6 concert? You could go with me? 

Riley waited for Mega_Bots to respond, but they never did. She waited for a week, hoping they’d just gotten distracted or never hit the send button. 

But nothing came, and Riley’s heart broke a little. She didn’t bother trying to restart their conversation, and took a break from the Anderson account, silencing the notifications. 

“Come on Rainbow,” Wilbur said, handing out another glowstick. “You can’t not enjoy yourself at a BH6 concert,” 

“You got your heart broken,” Tip said. “But we aren’t going to let you drag yourself down!” 

The stage suddenly went dark. Music boomed and smoke rushed onto the stage, then there was a repeated drum beat as individual spotlights started to light the newly appearing figures. 

“One!” Fred Lee yelled, hitting his cymbals. 

“Two!” Honey Lemon cheered, guitar mixing with the two drum beats. 

“Three!” Wasabi Waylans grinned, then keyboard, guitar and drums. 

“Four,” Gogo Tomago drawled, bassline joining. 

“Five.” The robotic voice of Baymax added, appearing on the screens. 

“Six!” Hiro Hamada crooned, and the stage lights whipped up. The crowd went wild, and Riley’s vision burst into colors and almost overwhelmed her. Tip and Violet grabbed either of her hands as she reeled back, steadying her. 

Big Hero Six launched into their tour full force, starting off with I’m The One , then turning into Caffeine and Big Metal Show before winding down with Path to Isolation. That was one of the songs that Hiro had written after the fire, and the emotions were so strong the blues and purples almost covered her vision. 

As the song finished, the lights changed again, and Hiro looked out at the crowd. 

“Hey San Fransokyo, how y’all doing tonight?!” 

The crowd cheered wildly and the young singer grinned. 

“It’s so nice to be back in our hometown!” He said. “Now, I know you’ve all been following our tour, so you think you know the songs, but I’ve got something… new to share,” 

He turned back to nod at the others before double taking at the mic. 

“For someone special,” He said quickly, and Honey Lemon and Wasabi started to play. 

“She paints her fingers with a close precision, I start to notice empty bottles of ink, and take a moment to assess the things she shows me…” 

Something tugged at the back of Riley’s mind. The song’s colors were strange too… almost familiar in a sense, 

“All the colors in a conversation, the words are swimming through her ears again. There's nothing wrong with a taste of she’s shown you,” 

Hiro’s voice was soft and gentle, but got rougher as the chorus picked up. 

“Say what you mean, tell me I’m right, and let the sun rain down on me! Give me a sign, I want to believe…” 

Everyone else joined in now, and Riley stumbled back as the words crashed into her. 

“Whoa oh oh oh oh, synesthesia, Anderson, you run my town, whoa oh oh oh oh, synesthesia! I can’t believe you frown!” 

“Isn’t Anderson the name of your-” Tip started, but Riley cut her off. 

“Oh my god he’s talking about my art account,” She whispered, then turned to look at her best friend. “He’s Mega_Bots!” 

“What?!” Penny yelped. 

“Hiro is Mega_Bots!” 

“Hiro is what now?” Wilbur asked, Violet looking at her too. 

“HIRO HAMADA IS THE GUY I WAS TALKING TO!” 

“Say what you mean, tell me I’m right, and let the sun rain down on me! Give me a sign, I want to believe…” 

Hiro was scanning the crowd now, and Riley knew he wouldn’t be able to see her. Had he even seen her in real life? Did he know who he was actually singing too? Oh my god, she’d written a song about him - did that make her a crazy fangirl?! 

“There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what she’s shown you…”  

The music died, though the crowds screaming didn’t. For Riley, all the sound drained away, but her synesthesia was going haywire - all focused on Hiro on stage. 

“Is uh… Anderson in the audience?” Hiro muttered. “Could you… come up here?” 

“Go!” Tip and Penny yelped, shoving Riley forwards. “Go!” 

Riley stepped forward and was immediately grabbed up by security, who escorted her up to the stage. There were several others who moved, but Hiro automatically recognized the blonde. 

“Hi,” He grinned. Riley squinted in the stage lights, heart beating a mile a minute. Behind her, the rest of the band - the rest of the band . “I hope you aren’t too mad at me,” 

“Not mad,” Riley stuttered. “Just surprised,” 

“Good surprised?” 

“Oh yeah,” 

Hiro learned in and smiled, and Riley couldn’t help it. She grinned back. 

“What colors do you see?” He asked. 

“All of them.” Riley whispered, then grabbed Hiro’s face and kissed him. 

So maybe her internet friend had worked out. 

Okay. It had.