Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Baymax was walking around sanfransokyo, waiting for Hiro to finish his classes, scanning for people to help. So far he had:

Pet 4 cats
Helped one old woman cross the street
Helped Aunt Cass put away 4 boxes of supplies for the cafe

He decided to take the subway to a spot near the campus to wait for Hiro, he only had another 2 hours of classes. Baymax scanned the subway for patients, but found no one who needed his help.

2 stops later, he was at a market on a street near the campus. He decided to stop to say hello to his friend Mbita. Baymax liked to visit his former patients often, and they were (Almost) always happy to see him.

“Hello Mbita. How are you doing?”

“Oh- hey Baymax! Good to see you again! Anything interesting happen this week?”

“I have pet 23 cats since I last saw you.”

“You really like cats, don’t you Baymax?”

“They are very hairy.”

“Uhuh. I gotta get back to work though, Bye Baymax!” Mbita turned and began talking to his boyfriend, Yukio.

“Goodbye, Mbita!”

Baymax continued walking through the market, stopping when he heard a sound of distress coming from an alleyway in between 2 stores. His sensor picked up a heat signature as well.

“Hello? Are you in need of medical assistance?”

“Nh-” A young girl, no older than 16, with dark brown hair sat in the alleyway. She was rocking back and forth, hands over her ears. She was also yanking at her hair, strands falling at her sides.

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to your need for medical attention when you said, “nh”. On a scale of one to 10, how would you rate your pain?” Baymax walked into the alleyway, scanning the girl as he did.

“Loud- please- mhh- stop-” Her grip over ears tightened. Baymax turned his volume down considerably lower. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes, threatening to drip down her face and soak into her skin.

“I am sorry. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?”

“Nine- Nh- stop- Help-” The rocking was intensifying, she was slamming her head lightly into the brick wall behind her. Baymax reached out an arm between her and the wall, protecting her head.

“Please do not harm yourself. That is not conductive to good health”

“Dont- Nh- Touch me-” She whimpered, tugging on the hair around her ears in fistfulls.

“I am trying to prevent you from hurting yourself. Your scans show no physical injuries, but you show highly elevated levels of stress chemicals, and your brain scan leads me to believe you have autism. Is that correct?”

“Mh- Yeah-” She quickly and sharply nodded. She was still rocking aggressively, but had accepted the soft barrier between her and the wall.

“I believe you are experiencing what is known as an ‘autistic meltdown’, Have you had one of these before?”

“Mno- I don’t- Nhh-” She was desperately trying to shove the stray hairs off of her, but had to keep going back to cover her ears.

“They usually happen due to overstimulation. Do you happen to have some kind of earplugs or headphones on you?”

“In there-” She points at a purple backpack across the alley from her. Baymax opens its biggest pocket and retrieves a pair of black headphones, and then quickly heads back towards the girl to protect her head again. Luckily, the rocking has subsided enough that she’s not hitting the wall anymore.

“Here you go,” Baymax said, helping the girl put the headphones on. “You should begin to calm down from here.”

“Mhm- Thanks- who- who are- who are you?”

“I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. What is your name?”

“I’m- M-Miar. Sorry- Sorry I can’t- I can’t- Nh- I can’t talk normal.”

“It is alright. I do not mind.”

“Most people- most people get mad at- mad at me. I- Nh- It’s hard to talk- It’s hard to talk when I’m- I’m upset.”

“It is alright. I am a robot, and do not feel anger.”

“Thats- Nh- thats good.”

“Are you feeling calmer now?”

“A- a little.”

“Would you like a hug? Hugs are shown to decrease stress.”

“Mh- yeah-”

Baymax wrapped his arms around her, and she shuddered briefly before relaxing into him. She was still rocking, but less violently so. Her breathing was slowing, along with her heart rate. She grew silent, with longer in between the involuntary noises.

“Your heart rate has slowed. Are you feeling better?”

“I- Yeah. Yeah I feel a little better. I’m uh- I’m gonna head back to my house.”

“Alright. Do you feel like you can get back by yourself?”

“I- uh… no, I’m not sure.”

“Would you like me to come with you?”

“Uh- yeah. I’d like that.”

And so they set off for her house. Baymax would probably be late picking up hiro, but he didn’t mind. He had time.

Chapter Text

Hiro was working with Wasabi and Baymax in the lab when the door slammed open. Honey Lemon jumped at the sound, accidentally spilling cobalt on her table. Yup, that was going to stain.

“Geez Fred, warn a girl! What’s got you so pumped??” Gogo yelled, throwing one of her electromag wheels at his head before it came whizzing back to her hand.

“Guess” Fred responded, slipping his arm and head out of his school mascot suit and fistbumping Baymax.

“Balalalala.” Baymax said, reciprocating the fistbump.

“Did you get a new comic book or something?” Wasabi asked, taking off his safety goggles.

“Nope! One of my cousins is coming to live with me, so we can hang out with him! He’s 14, just like Hiro! His name is Cooper”

“Oooo, new friend!” Honey Lemon said, cleaning up the cobalt. “Can’t wait to meet him!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fred hadn’t showed up to the lab in a week. Nobody knew what he was busy doing, he didn’t even show up for the robotics league championship. He had apologized for his absence over text afterward, explaining that he was with his cousin.

“Something’s gotta be up.” Gogo said. “He’s usually texting us daily.”

“Oh, maybe he’s just busy hanging out with his cousin! That’s what he said he was up to.” Honey lemon interjected.

“Well he can’t stay missing forever, he’ll probably be back soon.” Wasabi said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cooper and Fred were sitting in the car together, sitting in the parking lot.

“You don’t have to talk to them if you don’t want to, I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Cooper nodded, putting on a pair of headphones and zipping his hoodie shut.

“They’re really nice guys, and I really think you and Hiro will get along.”

Cooper continued to stare at the floor.

“You ready to go, Cooper?” Fred asked from the front seat of the car. Cooper nodded mutely in response.

“We can go home whenever you need to. I won’t be mad.”

Cooper gave another small nod, and they headed inside the building together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey guys!” Fred yelled through the lab door.

“Hey Fred! Where have you been?” Wasabi asked from his work station.

“Mostly been hanging out with my cousin. He’s a pretty cool guy!”

“Is he here with you?” Hiro asks, also peeking around the corner.

“Uh- yeah. Cooper, you can c'mon in!”

Hiro didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. The boy had hair a bit longer than Hiro’s, with a white stripe in the same place as Gogo’s. He seemed a little shy, but his face was mute of all expression. He seemed empty, like he was focused on something Hiro couldn’t comprehend.

He seemed to be trying to make as little eye contact as possible.

“Hi Cooper! It’s so nice to meet you!” Honey Lemon said, bending down to get on Cooper’s level.

Cooper waved in response, staying at Fred's side. He hardly looked 14, more like a clingy child hiding behind his mother at a family gathering. His eyes stayed focused on the floor, and he continued to stay as close to the door as possible.

“Hello Cooper.” Baymax said relatively loudly, making Cooper scramble backwards, while looking up for the 1st time.

“It’s just Baymax. Remember that robot I told you about earlier?” Fred said. Cooper nodded a little but scooted even closer to the door. Maybe he was afraid of robots? If he was, living in Sanfransokyo would be quite the adjustment.

“I am Baymax. I am a healthcare companion robot designed to perform over 10,000 medical procedures.”

“I actually need to work on Baymax, do you wanna come with me and look at my lab?” Hiro figured maybe getting the kid into an area with less people would calm him down.

Cooper looked at Fred, who nodded, before nodding himself and following Hiro and Baymax out of the door.

“Alright, now that all the children are all out of the room… WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU??” Gogo yelled indignantly.

“Geez, can’t a guy hang out with his cousin??”

“We got really worried Fred.” Honey Lemon interjected. “You missed the robotics championship, you hardly texted any of us for a week!”

“Ok so I was busy. I’m a school mascot, not a student. It's not like I’m obligated to be here.”

“Ok whatever, at least you're back now. Just don’t do it again.”

“At least not without telling us 1st.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiro shut the door behind them, and Baymax sat down in the center of the room. Hiro plugged him into the computer, and started typing. Cooper sat down next to Baymax, seeming intrigued by him.

“What are you working on?” Baymax asked from the floor. Cooper was sitting next to him, poking his arm. It was then that Hiro realized Cooper hadn’t spoken a word since he had arrived. Maybe the kid was just really shy.

“Just a routine update, Baymax.” Hiro said. “While I’m working on this you can talk to Cooper or something”

“Alright. Hello Cooper, It is nice to meet you. How are you doing?”

Cooper gave a thumbs up, and then went back to staring at Baymax.

“You are Fred’s cousin, correct?”

Cooper nodded, seeming surprised.

“Would you like to see something funny?”

Another nod. Baymax slowly deflated, making a sound like air squeaking out of a balloon. Cooper chuckled and gave Baymax a small smile before returning to a stoic expression.

“I am made to have a plush or ‘huggable’ design. I have also been told I look like ‘a walking marshmallow’ by Hiro."

Cooper chuckled a little louder. His face stayed smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, turns out this update is gonna take a while. You wanna go, Cooper? Hang out with the rest of the guys?”

He nodded hesitantly.

Chapter Text

“Oh- Hi Cooper! Guys, he’s back!” Honey Lemon said, pushing a cart of chemicals through the lab. Cooper still seemed as high strung as he had been.

“Alright, cool.” Wasabi mumbled from his workspace. Cooper wandered over, seeming confused about what wasabi was doing.

“Hey Cooper- Oh- Stay behind the line, this is laser induced plasma!”

“Scuse me, I'm just gonna borrow this.” Gogo said, grabbing something off Wasabi’s table. The table jostled, everything shifting slightly to the left.

“AGAIN- you can't just DO THAT!!!” Wasabi yelled at her, scrambling to reorganize the table. “Gee thanks Gogo.”

“Again, I don’t caaaaaareeee” Gogo said, chucking the tool back at Wasabi and hitting him in the forehead.

“OW-”

Wasabi paused when he heard the sound of panicked breathing to his left. Cooper was lowering himself to the floor, trying to make himself smaller than he was. He was making intense eye contact with Wasabi, but he was shrinking backward, like Wasabi was a bomb about to explode.

“Hey- uh Fred? Something is up with your cousin”

“I'm sorry-” Cooper said shakily, putting his hands in front of his face. “I’m so sorry- I’m sorry-”

“Oh- he gets like this sometimes- Sorry-” Fred said.

“Hey- Cooper, do you wanna head back home or-” But before Fred could finish, Cooper shoved the door of the lab open and ran off, slamming it behind him.

“What was that??” Wasabi asks. “Should we go after him?”

“I’m not sure, usually when he gets like this he goes to his room for a bit and then comes back out…” Fred says.

“What did you do Wasabi?” Gogo asks from over by her bike.

“I dunno- Fred what did I do??”

“He gets kinda freaked out by other people being freaked out. Sorry, I should have told you guys. It’s been a bit of an… adjustment.”

“It’s alright Fred, at least we know now. But… what does he do if he can’t find his room?” Honey Lemon asked.

“He usually finds the 1st room without any people in- oh no…”

“What??” Wasabi asks.

“He probably ran off to some random room in this wing…”

“Ah- this is all my fault. I’m sorry fred”

“It’s alright Gogo. There's only so many rooms in the wing. Let’s go look for him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After splitting up and searching all the empty rooms in the wing, the gang was starting to get worried.

“Oh my parents are gonna kill me…” Fred mumbled. Honey lemon was attempting to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey- Maybe Baymax can scan for him! He probably scanned him earlier!” Wasabi said.

Fred ran up to the door across from the lab, swinging it open.

“It is going to be alright. There there. Everything will be ok, Cooper.”

Cooper was sitting in Baymax’s lap with his eyes closed. Baymax continued to let out a string of reassurance, and Hiro sat next to them, just being there for him. Cooper’s breathing was still faster than normal, but it seemed to be slowing, a little bit at a time.

“Hey Fred- You good?” Hiro asked.

“I’m fine, we just didn’t know where he went. Baymax, how is he doing?”

“He is having a panic attack, but he has calmed down considerably. Would you happen to know what caused this?”

“He got scared by Wasabi yelling.”

“Does he have ligyrophobia? It is the fear of loud noises.”

“Probably, the people he used to stay with weren’t… the best.” Fred sighed.

Cooper whined, startling Fred.

“Yeah, I know. It's hard.”

“It will be alright.” Baymax said.

Fred had hardly noticed, but the others seemed to have decided to leave them alone. Cooper, If he had been more present, would have probably been grateful for that.

Chapter Text

Hiro had a lot to do. Baymax needed an update, he had a project due on Thursday, and he still needed to help Gogo with her bike. He had woken up, taken Baymax out of his charging port, and headed to school.

He wasn’t exactly stressed, just busy.

“Hiro, your neurotransmitter levels are elevated.”

“Yeah. sure.”

“This indicates that you are stressed.”

“I’ll handle it later, Baymax. I’ve got things to do right now.”

“Pushing away the problem will only make it worse in the future.”

“Ok, I’ll finish this bit of the project, then I’ll take a break. Happy?”

“Thank you. Also, I have received an email that you might want to hear. Should I relay it?”

“No, I have to go print something. Can you remember it and tell me when I get back?” Hiro got up from his chair and plugged Baymax into the computer.

“Update will take 2 hours and 38 minutes.”

“Great.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Gogo, can I use your printer? I’m letting Wasabi borrow mine.” Hiro asked.

“Sure, there’s a print in there right now, but it’s probably cured by now. You can swap the trays.”

“Thanks. What’s your entry code?”

“GTGFAST, all uppercase”

“That was my idea!” Fred said from honey lemon’s work station.

“Thanks Gogo, I only need it for a few hours-”

Suddenly, the humming and whirring of the lab was drowned out by mechanical screeching. A bright red light flashed as the screeching continued. What the-

Hiro was back at the fire again.

“Tadashi! Please!” Hiro was clinging as tight as he could to Tadashi's arm

“Someone has to help.” Tadashi pulled free and ran into the building.

“TADASHI!!!” The building in front of him exploded, glass shattering along with hiro.

Hiro was on his knees. Tadashi was gone. His brother, the only person he had left was gone and never coming back. No… no… no no no no-

Hiro.

No- everything was broken and it would never be ok again- Hiro felt the screeching through the air as if it was his own, a primal screech of rage and grief and sadness because NOTHING WAS OK-

Hiro?

Tadashi NO STOP PLEASE COME BACK I NEED YOU I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE PLEASE YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS PLEASE-

“Hiro!”

Hiro blinked and looked around him. He was crouched on the floor, backed as far into a corner as he could go. The lights and alarm were still blaring- fire fire FIRE FIRE

“Hiro. It’s me, Gogo.”

Hiro’s breathing was WAY faster than it should be, and his heart was trying to push its way out of his chest- FIRE FIRE FIRE-

“Hiro, do you know where you are?”

FIRE FIRE FIRE-

“Fi- Fire”

“It’s just a drill. No fire.”

“But- no- Fire-”

“He’s over here guys! No fire Hiro. It’s a drill”

‘Hiro!” Honey Lemon said, bounding around the corner with Fred and Wasabi. She immediately knelt down upon seeing him, not wanting to scare him.

“No- but- Tadashi- fire-”

“Oh Hiro…” Honey Lemon said softly, putting a hand on his knee.

“There isn’t a fire Hiro. Promise. Do you know where you are?”

“E-exposition hall.”

“No.”

Wasabi elbowed Gogo in the side.

“Gogo… not the best way to say that! Hiro, what are some things you can see?” Honey lemon asked.

“Y-you guys. Table. Bike.”

“I’m gonna go get Baymax. He’ll know what to do” Fred said before running out of the room, Wasabi in tow.

“Anything else?” Honey Lemon said to Hiro.

“Ti-Tile floor. Gogo’s bike.” His breathing was slowing as he felt the linoleum beneath him.

“Good. Where are you?”

“...Lab?”

“Great job.”

“You’re ok Hiro. Everyone is safe.”

“No…No fire?”

“No fire.” Gogo reassured.

“Guys we got Baymax!” Fred yelled.

“Where is Hiro?” Baymax asked, shuffling in.

“He’s over here!” Honey Lemon yelled.

“My scanner indicates that Hiro is having a panic attack. How was it triggered?”

“Oh- the fire alarm!” Gogo said.

Baymax knew Hiro tended to resist care, so he was fully expected to have to reason with Hiro. The rest of the team had decided to leave, letting Baymax handle it.

“Hiro, can you hear me?”

“Ye- Yeah.”

“Your heart rate and breathing are extremely elevated. I will help you calm down.” Baymax sat down, partially so he would have a better angle, and partially to scare Hiro less.

“Would you like a hug?”

“Please-” Hiro wrapped his arms around Baymax, he wanted the image of the exploding building out of his head NOW-

Baymax placed Hiro on his lap, fully surrounding him.

“It will be ok Hiro. You are safe. There is no fire.”

The alarm stopped going off.

“The alarm has stopped, Hiro. You are safe.”

Hiro’s breathing began to slow. Thank goodness Baymax was here.

“Can- Can we go to my lab?” Baymax had a weighted blanket that he stored in there, and that actually sounded really nice right now.

“Alright. Can you walk?”

“Of course I can walk-” Hiro stood up- but was surprised when his knees buckled underneath him. “Woah-”

“I will help you walk to the lab” Baymax said, helping him up. Hiro’s legs felt like jelly, but with a bit of assistance he was able to stand.

“Th-thanks Baymax.” Hiro tried to calm himself down from his sudden spike of anxiety.

“You will be ok.”

Hiro and Baymax slowly made their way to his lab, hiro leaning mostly on baymax’s arm.

Hiro plugged Baymax in and wrapped himself in a weighted blanket. He could do the rest of this himself.

Chapter Text

Hiro was exhausted. He was working on a final project for the semester, and had ended up staying at school until 11pm. He had walked himself and Baymax home, and Hiro was glad to be able to go to bed. He was surprised he hadn’t conked out on the way home.

“Gnite Aunt Cass, I’m gonna- yaaaawnnn… head to bed. M’really tired.”

“Looks like you could use it!” She said, pulling him into a hug.“Night Hiro. Night Baymax.”

“Goodnight, Aunt Cass.” Baymax said, and the two of them walked upstairs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiro woke up in his lab with a jolt. He must have slept here overnight. Ugh, he would hear it from Aunt Cass later.

“Morning Baymax…” Hiro said, stretching.

“Mo-mo-morning hi-Hiro” Baymax glitched in response.

“Hm… sounds like something’s wrong, lemme see if it’s a quick fix or not.” Hiro quickly plugged Baymax into the computer, no big deal. This had happened a few times before.

“Hi-Hiro…” The smell of burning plastic hit is nostrils

Hiro turned to face Baymax, but jumped backwards. Baymax had a small fire blazing on his right arm, singing the plastic. Hiro watched as it burned a small hole, the material peeling back as it turned brown.

“WOAH- It’s ok- I’ll put it out-” Hiro pulled a fire extinguisher off the wall and sprayed it on his arm. Suddenly, Baymax burst completely into flames, his entire skin melting off his metal skeleton.

“H-Hiro…”

“It’s ok Baymax, I’ll uh- pull out your chip and make you a new body-” Hiro reached for the fire, panicking as it singed his hand “I’ll uh- We’ll fix this-”

“Why did you let me go, Hiro?” Baymax’s voice had stopped glitching.

“Wh-what?”

When Hiro looked up, Baymax was gone, replaced by Tadashi. His skin was burning, peeling back-. Why won’t he stop looking at me- WHY WON’T HE STOP-

“This is your fault Hiro” Tadashi said flatly

“No- please…” Hiro fell out of his chair and onto his knees, sobbing. “Tadashi.. I’m so sorry… I tried-” Why won’t he stop-

“You’re the reason I’m gone and never coming back.” Tadashi looked disappointed, just like he was when he found Hiro bot fighting.

“Please… Tadashi I’m so sorry…” STOP STOP STOP STOP-

“Goodbye Hiro. I’m leaving and taking Baymax with me. You don’t deserve him”

“Tadashi- please no come back-” PLEASE STOP STOP STOP-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiro sat up, gasping for breath. It was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

IT WAS JUST A DREAM.

Go back to sleep, Hiro.

It wasn’t real, despite the image of Tadashi being burned into his brain.

Hiro got out of bed, maybe he should get a drink of water. His throat felt dry, yet he felt like he was drowning.

“Hiro?”

“Huh- oh hey Baymax.” He fought to keep his voice from shaking.

“Hiro, what are you doing awake?” Baymax asked from in front of his charging port.

See? Baymax is still here. It was just a dream Hiro.

“I- I was just getting some water.” Hiro tried not to make eye contact with him, Baymax might read his face.

“You have been crying. What is wrong?”

Hiro noticed his face felt damp, Baymax must have been right, how had he not noticed it?

“No, nothing happened Baymax, I'm fine.”

“Hiro, resisting help will not improve your current state. Please tell me what happened.”

“It’s nothing important. Just a nightmare. Go back into sleep mode, I’m gonna go get some water.” Hiro pushed past him, walking down the stairs and quietly stepping into the living room.

“Are these nightmares frequent?”

“Baymax, I’m fine-” Hiro grabbed his water bottle from the coffee table and headed back upstairs. Hiro was beginning to get annoyed.

“Hiro, It is not good for you to keep brushing away your mental health.”

“I’m not brushing anything away, Baymax. I’m fine.”

“You are not.”

“Look- I don’t get what you’re not understanding! I’m FINE. I’m gonna go back to sleep-”

“Hiro, this is not what Tadashi would have wanted.”

“W-what?” Hiro paused.

“This is not what Tadashi would have wanted.”

“What he wanted doesn’t matter anymore.” Hiro said coldly.

“Tadashi-”

“HE’S GONE Baymax!” Hiro said, whipping around to stare at Baymax angrily.

“Tadashi is-”

“HE’S NOT HERE BAYMAX! He’s gone- And he’s never coming back-” Hiro’s voice broke.

“And- and it’s all my fault-”

Baymax stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Hiro, and pulled him into a hug.

“Hiro, what happened to Tadashi was not your fault.”

“I- I know but if i had just stopped him from running in-” Hiro realized that he was now on the floor, sitting in Baymax’s lap.

“Hiro, there was nothing you could have done.”

“...” Hiro tried to close his eyes, but the image of Tadashi in flames met him when he did.

“Does this have something to do with your nightmare?”

“Yes…I didn’t mean to make such a big deal of it, I know it’s not real. It’s stupid.”

“Hiro, you have told me that quite a few times, and not once has it been true. Just because you know it is not real doesn’t mean the emotions caused by it aren’t”

“What?”

“Your feelings are never stupid Hiro.”

Hiro’s face was wet again, crying quietly because he misses Tadashi so much and he’s just so tired of this-

Baymax wraps a blanket around himself and Hiro, and Hiro hears a whirring coming from inside Baymax as he grows warmer. As the minutes tick by, Hiro feels himself being pulled closer to sleep. He should probably just go back to his bed, but Baymax is closer this way.

“Night Baymax”

“Goodnight Hiro.”

Chapter Text

When honey lemon woke up, death felt closer than usual. Her uterus felt like it was being wrung out like a towel, her hands were shaking, and waves of nausea washed over her.

“Helloooo aunt flo.” Honey lemon said under her breath. She turned around and saw a large spot of red on her sheets. Great, another thing to clean.

Honey slowly got ready, having to sit down while doing most of it. She was thankful gogo had moved out, she didn’t want to be seen like this. Come on Honey Lemon, woman up.

She opted to take the tram instead of driving, she didn’t trust herself to be able to concentrate enough to drive well. Hopefully she could muster up a positive attitude.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey honey lemon! Sup?”

“Oh- hey Fred!” Honey lemon was desperately trying to keep herself from wincing, trying to put on a smile like usual.

“You’re usually here before me, what’s up?” Fred asked

“Just a little tired from staying up late- ok gotta get to work now!”

Honey ran off to her workstation and immediately sat down in a chair. Her insides felt like they were being squeezed into knots, the pain pulsating through her abdomen.

No way she was getting any decent work done today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Honey, you alright?” Wasabi asked, walking past her work station.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a headache.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, are you good? You look like death”

“I feel like it too.” Is what honey lemon wanted to say.

“I’m fine gogo, I just have a headache” is what she actually said. Gogo raised an eyebrow at that, but left her to her own devices.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you ok, Honey lemon?” Hiro asked.

“I’m good Hiro, I have a headache.”

“ I could ask Baymax to-”

“NO- I’m- I’m fine hiro. It’s really just a headache. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After 2 days of pretending, honey lemon was sick. Of feeling like this, of lying to her friends… Of everything!

“Honey lemon, you appear to be in distress.” Honey lemon jumped, she hadn’t noticed Baymax walk in.

“I’m fine, Baymax. I just have a headache.”

“I will scan you now.”

“NO- No really, I’m fine- you don’t have to-”

“Your prostaglandin levels are elevated. You are also currently menstruating."

“Yup. I know.” Honey lemon sat down, defeated.

“A rise in prostaglandins indicates more severe menstrual cramps. On a scale of-”

“Baymax- I’m fine. It’s nothing I haven’t handled before.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s just- sigh… I don’t want to worry people. I’m honey lemon, I’m supposed to be happy and positive-”

“No one can be happy all the time.”

“I know… It’s just kind of my thi- what are you doing?”

Baymax’s hand sat on Honey Lemon’s lap, and she could feel it slowly heating up.

“I am helping your menstrual cramps by heating up my arm. Is this better?”

“Sigh… Yes.”

“ I will stay here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey baymax, where are yo- what are you doing?” Hiro said, rounding the corner

“I am helping honey lemon with her menstrual cramps”

“Oh. ok. Baymax, what’s your battery percent?”

“73.8 percent”

“Ok thanks. Bye Baymax, bye honey.”

“Bye hiro.” She was finally getting a little work done!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gogo walked up to Honey lemon. Honey was keeled over at her desk, trying to control her nausea. Baymax had started glitching, so Hiro had taken him in for repairs. Great.

“Shark week, Captain?" Honey lemon had forgotten about that. She and Gogo had developed what they called “The pirate code” In middle school, after Gogo had started her period.

“Aye.”

“Harpoons on deck?” Honey lemon realized that yes, she only had a few tampons left.

“Supplies are low.”

“Chum stocks holding?” She had refilled her pain killers recently…

“Yup, plenty to spare”

“What kind is it?”

“Great white off the starboard bow.”

“Sorry about that. Good luck captain.”

“Thanks Matey.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honey lemon got up from her work station, feeling tired. Thank goodness it's Friday. She grabs her purse and gets ready to leave.

“Hey- Uh honey?”

“What is it wasabi?”

“You have a stain.”

“Hm?”

“Your pants.”

“Oh- thanks.”

Honey lemon tied her sweatshirt around her waist to cover the small bloodstain.

Chapter Text

Baymax was walking around the SFIT campus while Hiro was researching a project. He was a bit of a novelty among the students, but they mostly left him alone so he could do his job. Baymax was standing at the steps of the Tadashi Hamada exposition hall, scanning for patients.

Suddenly, a cat with a leopard print and tiger stripes walked up to him.

“Hello Big man”

Big man, the on campus cat, meowed in response. He technically belonged to a student named Danielle, but Danielle liked to let big man roam around freely. He always came back for food anyway.

“Hairy baby…” Baymax said, petting him.

Baymax then decided he would walk through the market, maybe get Aunt Cass something for dinner. Plus, he might get to see Mbita again.

“Ah- ow…”

Baymax walked over to Wasabi, who was currently trying to limp out of the road. Baymax held out an arm to him, which he gratefully took, stumbling onto the sidewalk.

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to your need for medical attention when you said ‘Ah ow’. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?”

“Hey- ah- Baymax. I’m fine really, I just fell-”

A car behind them sped off.

“Oh- Yeah, DRIVE OFF why don’t ya??”

“Wasabi, were you hit by that car?”

“NO- yes- It doesn’t matter. I’m fine.”

“I will scan you now”

“Baymax I’m fine just let me get to class- He wasn’t even going that fast, it’s a school-”

“You have suffered some injuries that I am not equipped to fix, Wasabi. I will call you an ambulance-”

“DON’T- It- It’s fine, just fix what you can and let me get to class.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After fixing what he could, Baymax was still persistent.

“Wasabi, you should still go to a hospital. Your injuries will worsen over time if you ignore it.”

“Baymax I- I can’t”

“Why not? If you do not think you are fit to drive I can call you an ambu-”

“I just can’t Baymax.”

“I am sorry, I do not understand.”

“Well… do you promise not to tell anyone about this?”

“I promise. Patient confidentiality is important to me.”

“I… It’s just money’s kinda tight for me right now.”

“I do not understand what that has to do with the car”

“My parents kinda cut me off for… Reasons”

Baymax tilted his head in confusion.

“Ok- well bottom line is I can’t afford to go to the hospital right now.”

“Afford?”

“Well hospital visits are like thousands of dollars- and i don’t really make enough to cover that AND expenses-”

“Hospital’s cost… thousands of dollars?”

“Yeah, I think the average cost is like 3,000 dollars for a one night stay, not including an ambulance ride-”

“The ambulance ride costs money too?!”

“Ok i’m gonna get to class, bye Baymax” Wasabi said, using Baymax’s frustration as a distraction.

“Oh no…” Baymax said as Wasabi ran off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baymax was sitting in his charging port, fuming.

“Hey- Uh Baymax, are you ok?” Hiro asked, walking into the room.

“Hospital visits cost thousands of dollars?!?”

“Uh- yeah- were you… not aware of it?” Hiro scooted backward, deciding he should probably keep his distance from Baymax.

“Capitalism has no place in the healthcare system!!”

“Ok Baymax, what’s gotten you like this? I honestly didn’t even know you could get like this…”

“Wasabi got hit by a CAR, but could not afford to go to the HOSPITAL to fix the injuries I am not capable of fixing!”

“Wait Wasabi got hit by a car?!”

“Oh no. I was not supposed to tell you.”

“Of course he didn’t want you to tell us- wait how badly was he injured??” Hiro pulled out his phone. He would need backup.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“WASABI!” Gogo yelled, slamming the door of the lab open, the others in tow.

“ Geez, what-”

“YOU GOT HIT BY A CAR AND DIDN’T TELL ANYONE, THAT’S WHAT!” Wasabi cringed as he looked at his friends' faces, showing a mix of anger, sadness, and worry.

“I’m sorry- It’s just Baymax mostly fixed me up and I feel fine-”

“Wasabi… Why didn’t you tell us money was tight?” Honey lemon says softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I- I just didn’t want to worry you guys-”

“Wasabi, we’re your friends. It’s basically our job to worry about you.” Gogo said.

“We’ll get you the money, wasabi. We promise.” Fred said.

Chapter Text

Baymax had been having some problems since school had wrapped up for the year. His battery was draining at an insane rate unless he was actively plugged in, something like 5% a minute. Hiro wasn’t sure whether the problem was the charger or Baymax himself, but he was determined to fix it.

“Ok- Baymax? Can you stand back in the charger for me?”

“But whyyyyyyyyyy-”

“That’s why. I’m gonna try to fix your battery problem.”

“But I… Wanna pet the hairyyyyy babyyyyy” Baymax started making grabby hands towards mochi, but the cat scampered away to the other side of the room.

“You can pet mochi later, Baymax.” Hiro said, putting Baymax on his charger and plugging him into his computer.

“Hhhhhhow long willllll this taaaaaaaakeeee”

“I don’t know, but it’ll probably be a quick fix.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello! I am Baymax! Your personal healthcare companion.” Hiro was exhausted. He had been working pretty much non-stop since

“Great…Baymax, how fast’s your battery draining?”

“0.5% a minute. I will scan you-”

“Still not slow enough… Baymax, get back’n your charger. We need to get it down to… to 0.1”

“ Scan complete.” Why would Baymax have scanned him? He felt fine.

“Hm? What do… Why?”

“Your neurotransmitters indicate exhaustion.” Whatever, It wasn’t even too bad. He’s felt worse.

“Uhuh… Ok- get back in the charger mochi- I mean b’ymax.” How did he get them confused?

“When did you last sleep?” Crap, when did he last sleep? Uh…

“Uh… Last nig’t?” Hiro gets up to push Baymax in himself, but instead stumbles and catches himself against the wall. His head falls forwards, but he manages to snap himself awake.

“Hiro, It is 3AM. You should be asleep.”

“Uh…” His brain was sluggish, struggling to come up with a response. “No.. I think your intern’l clock’s wrong.” Yeah. Yeah that sounded good.

Hiro leaned on the doorway for support, before pushing himself up and walking back to Baymax. What was he trying to do again?

“You are tired. Go to sleep, Hiro.” Oh yeah, put Baymax back in his charger. Right.

Hiro pushed Baymax back onto his charger, plugged him in, and sat back at his desk. Finally, he could get some decent work done.

What was he working on again?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hiro? You have fallen aslee-”

“Hm- Wha- ‘M awake, I’m awake.” Hiro’s head snapped up, he must have fallen asleep at his desk again.

“Hiro, please go to bed.”

“Leave me alone- yawn… Baymax.” Hiro mumbled, reaching out for an energy drink, but Baymax grabbed it before he could and held it out of reach.

“Hey! What giv’s??”

“You have already consumed more than the recommended amount of caffeine for someone your age.”

“G’ve it back-”

Baymax set down the can, but before Hiro could grab it, he was being lifted out of his chair. What the-

“Wha-”

“I am taking you to bed, Hiro. You need to sleep.”

Hiro sighed in defeat, there was no way Baymax would get back to his charging port unless he went to sleep. He let himself be carried to his bed, laid down, and tucked in. He vaguely remembered the same being done to him as a child. The full weight of his exhaustion finally hits, and he feels himself succumbing to sleep.

“Goodnight Hiro.”

“Hm… Night Tadashi.” Hiro mumbles, before finally passing out.