Tadashi yawned as he closed his lab door and walked towards the now empty hall. He was tired; he had had multiple problems with Baymax, and figuring them out had taken him a lot more hours than he had expected. Thankfully, he had managed to fix them and was finally ready to go home. And it was very late, as usual.
As he stepped outside, he was in for a couple of surprises – it was raining really hard and a familiar figure was perched upon the stairs, huddled in on the railing.
"Y/N?"
You turned to give him a big smile and greeted him cheerily, "Tadashi! Hey!"
He came to sit beside you and looked you over, "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"I could say the same for you ya know," you replied, smiling smugly.
He chuckled and bumped his shoulder against yours. "I didn't notice it was raining," he said as he rubbed his eyes languidly.
"Baymax still being a bad robot huh?" you softly asked, the bags under his eyes and his drooping form filling you with concern.
"Yeah," he nodded. "But today was better than the other days," he added, sitting back a little.
"I know you'll pull through," you smiled, reassuringly squeezing his arm. "But don't you think you need to sleep as well? You shouldn't overwork yourself, you're practically falling apart," you expressed, which elicited a quiet laugh from him.
"Tadashi! I'm serious!"
"Well, look who's talking! Y/N L/N - the one who is at school at—," he pulled out his phone to check the time, "one in the morning."
You playfully rolled your eyes but you couldn't help smiling, "I was only trying to stop my system from overheating but by the time I was done, it was very late." You then gestured at the downpour before you and cheered with faux enthusiasm, "And of course, this lovely rain made it all the more delightful!"
Tadashi smiled fondly as he looked at you, his mellow eyes faintly glowing with a tinge of amber reflected from the remaining lights still lighting the campus. Something warm spilled within you and it found its way to your heart, lapping it in a swelling euphoria. But you turned away as it began to overwhelm you, afraid that he would see it. Tadashi blinked and turned away as well, adjusting his hat. You tucked your hair behind your ear, heart throbbing with unusual violence.
Tadashi cleared his throat. "So uh, I'll take you home when the rain stops."
"No, Tadashi, it's fine. You needn't worry about me," you said, pulling your sleeves to cover your hands.
"What? How can you say that!?" he looked positively hurt and offended. "There's no way I'm leaving you stranded here in the middle of the night by yourself! I'm taking you home and that's final." He folded his arms and a determined look set upon his face.
"But I don't live in your part of the city," you protested.
"It's okay Y/N. Don't worry about that," the genuine feeling with which he spoke defeated you.
"Alright then," you conceded with a smile, feeling the dregs of that earlier warmth swirl and dance within you.
"That's better. I couldn't rest without knowing that you got home safe," he replied, complimenting your smile with his own.
You ducked your head and began fiddling with your sleeves, conscious of the heat gaining on your cheeks. Tadashi looked at the rain stretching on in the front and adjusted his hat again, a suffusion of scarlet and pink apparent on his face.
"So, how's your brother doing?" you asked, not wanting to sit in a somewhat awkward silence.
You couldn't say you were particularly close to Tadashi; he had his own set of friends while you were mostly on your own. But you had a few classes together and on that account were acquainted well enough. He was nice and sweet and considerate and it was wonderful to be in his company. You often indulged in pondering over your relationship with him, a certain degree of uncertainty always shading it and it frightened you to read beyond the lines of familiarity.
"He's great but he just doesn't listen to me," he said this with some exasperation. "He keeps on sneaking out to go to bot fights."
"Maybe you need to adopt a new approach to convince him," you pointed out and then added teasingly, "But he's doing a great job at being a younger brother."
"Yeah, you're rig— Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!" He pouted while you broke into a peal.
The rain had considerably subsided and a thin curtain of mist began to veil the night.
"We'd better get going before the rain returns to trap us again," Tadashi said as he got up, offering you a hand to help you up as well.
You gladly took it and you both began walking to the parking lot. It was fairly quiet but it was not uncomfortable; you seldom got an opportunity to be alone with him, and it felt nice to have him walk beside you, even though it was in the campus at an odd hour.
Once you came to his moped, Tadashi took out two helmets from the storage compartment and handed you one. After you had equipped yourselves, he helped you up first and then climbed onto his seat. You had to hold onto him now and you blushed; you had never been this close to him before and it made you nervous and light headed. You gingerly wrapped your arms around his middle, all the while trying to quell the flutter in your chest. Meanwhile, Tadashi fumbled with his keys and almost dropped them as he flushed and became jittery due to your proximity.
The moped glided and flew from the grounds of SFIT and the wind swept across your faces, moisture clinging to your brows and lashes. Your exhilaration grew as the engine picked up speed, a thrilling sensation overriding the uncertainties and nervousness apparent only a few moments ago. It was extraordinary and yet oddly familiar, both your hearts secretly rejoicing at this unforseen circumstance of togetherness. But, it was short lived as the end came in bitter disappointment with the fury of the clouds launching a watery tirade against the two of you.
Tadashi said something over his shoulder but you could not understand what as the rain fell upon you in a frenzy of newfound vigour. Just as you began worrying about the papers you had on your bag, the cruising moped came to a halt in the driveway of an unfamiliar building.
He got down and helped you get off, hurriedly opening the door and ushering you in. The hallway was dimly illumined with night lamps. Tadashi took off his helmet while you did the same, putting them on the table standing beside the stairs.
He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Getting out of the rain was uh..." he trailed off and then lowering his voice to a whisper, said, "So uh, we have to be quiet because I don't want to wake aunt Cass but you don't really have to worry about my brother. He sleeps like a log."
When you abruptly stopped in your endeavours of shaking the water from your bag and only blinked at him, he became somewhat apprehensive, "You're okay with spending the night here right?"
You opened your mouth to say something but words seemed to stick to your tongue. You did not want to trouble him but considering the downpour outside, it seemed like staying in would be wise. You slung back your bag and wringing its straps, finally managed, "Yeah, thanks Tadashi."
"Don't mention it," his smile was soft and genuine and you couldn't help but return it with equal sentiment. "Come on," he caught your elbow and gently pulled you after him. You climbed two flights of stairs but before entering the attic, he turned to you and whispered, "I share the room with my brother so I hope you won't mind having a roommate."
"Um, Tadashi? I'll be fine with taking the couch," you returned, not wanting to rob him of his bed.
"Don't be ridiculous Y/N! I'll never let that happen!," he whispered back, stepping in and making you follow him.
Tadashi checked on Hiro as he entered and to all appearances he seemed asleep. Happy with this circumstance, he slid the shoji and presented you with your bed for the night.
You stood somewhat awkwardly beside the bed while Tadashi rummaged his closet for spare clothes.
"Here you go." He handed you a towel and a pair of pyjamas, deciding meanwhile that you would look cute in his clothes. His cheeks grew warm as he thought that and he was glad that it was dark enough to hide his blushes.
You thanked him as you took them, your own face beginning to burn considerably. Tadashi abruptly turned away and began to go through his closet again and you took to setting the clothes on the bed and your bag on the floor. At length he got up with some clothes and turning to go, said, "I'm off now Y/N. Sweet dreams."
"Tadashi?"
There was a pause before he answered and he somehow sounded breathless. "Yeah?"
"I just..." you trailed off, the patter of the rain taking up the thread you had broken.
"Y/N I think..."
"How long are you guys going to go on like that?" both of you started at the voice that came from the other side of the room.
"Hiro!?"
"Well, surprise surprise," Hiro drolled, a sharp contrast to his brother's exclamation.
"What do you think you're doing knuckle head?" Tadashi huffed, internally mortified about what Hiro would say next.
"I was just trying to sleep when you burst in with your girlfriend and now you refuse to be quiet. Seriously, what can I be doing?" he responded sarcastically.
Yup. Now he had done it.
Tadashi didn't know what to say or do, except stare at his brother's silhouette in utter terror. If that little genius with an inclination for mischief would only go a little further and blurt some more uncomfortable things, everything would resolve to utter perfection. The abrupt demise of the little friendship that had barely begun between the two of you would be such a delight to mope about.
"Never mind me Tadashi. You can go back to doing whatever you were but please, keep it down kids," Hiro went on, the smugness in his voice apparent.
"Why don't you zip your mouth and sleep like you're supposed to?" Tadashi scolded, finally finding his voice.
"Too bad for you I'm already awake. And now I can keep an eye on you both so that you don't do anything inapp—"
Hiro was rewarded with a pillow to his face before he could finish. Without giving him a chance to retaliate, Tadashi closed the shoji and turned to you with an awkward stiffness. Needless to say, he was beyond embarrassed. "I'm really sorry Y/N. My brother can really be a jerk sometimes. I-I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"You don't have to worry about me. It's alright." You tried to assure him, ignoring the warmth that had spread across your cheeks to the tips of your ears. In an attempt to lighten the mood, you reverted to Hiro's rant going on in the background and added with a quiet laugh, "But I must say that your brother lives up to his infamous reputation."
"Hey! I heard that!" Hiro's outburst caused the both of you to ease into quiet peals of laughter. "Seriously Tadashi! What did you tell your girlfriend about me? I hope you..."
"Just ignore him. He'll get tired after a while," Tadashi said as you nodded, a smile etched onto your lips.
Tadashi bundled the things he had taken out earlier and sent you a mock salute, "I'll really be off now. Hope you'll sleep well." You spoke your pleasantries as well, expecting him to leave immediately. But he remained standing on his spot, the dull light of the street lamp outside reaching his eyes to reveal luminous irids that betrayed tremulous exertions within. You swallowed and looked on, the score of former sensations suddenly resounding to tingle and succour you from within.
The patter of the rain rhythmically sounded on the roof, the atmosphere pregnant with all those unspoken longings and sighs, stolen glances of adoration and voiceless confessions of candid affection. You were beginning to feel the cold soaking through your wet clothes but your heart was a hot furnace, fuelled by the very excesses of its beating.
"You guys are at it aren't you?! How disgusting!"
This sudden bark caused you to jump in fright and Tadashi to drop his clothes. He scrambled to collect them and on dashing his way out, ran into the shoji, escaping with a quick opening and an embarrassed yelp. Hiro's triumphant remarks rang loud and clear as his brother practically fled downstairs, without even sparing him a word of disapproval.
You stood on your spot and blinked, sitting on the bed after what felt a long while and then drew a deep breath, the cold and dampness of your clothes long forgotten. You picked up the pyjamas lying beside you and an irrepressible grin found its way to your lips, warmth flooding your cheeks. Just then, the sound of the shoji-door scraping checked you in your deliberations.
"Um... I'm sorry to disturb you but I just wanted to say hello." You sighed in relief to hear the voice of the little mischief maker as he continued, "I'm glad to finally meet the Y/N L/N, the Madame Curie of Tadashi's Nerd School."
"I'm glad to meet you too Hiro, genius and bot-fighter," you replied, feeling a little embarrassed at being addressed thus.
"Hold on," you raised a brow as you contemplated, "Tadashi didn't introduce us so how do you know who I am?"
"You seem to know who I am as well," he countered.
You chuckled. "Well, I just happen to know Tadashi's prodigy brother who has a knack for bot fighting."
He snorted, eliciting another chuckle from you. Suddenly, he drew a flashlight on you, causing you to flinch away from its glare and put a hand in front of your face. "Hey! What're you doing?"
He hastily turned it off and laughed sheepishly, "Oops! Ha ha, I'm sorry... You know, Tadashi is always saying Y/N this and Y/N that so I was just curious to see your person."
"W-What?"
"No, seriously," he clicked his tongue and went on somewhat peevishly, "he never shuts up about you and I feel like stuffing my ears, no offence to you.
"But you know, I have gotten away with a lot of things just by bringing you up when Tadashi's mad at me. Seriously, it gets him every single time." He seemed to be secretly gloating over the advantage that he possessed.
A pause ensued as Hiro stifled a yawn, "Well, looks like its time to turn in. Good night Y/N."
You managed to return a decent "good night" as Hiro dragged the door back and left you to the sound of the marching rain. You sat still for a while like the mythical sculpture that had not yet received the boon of life, a blank look on your face. You were however conscious of your heart racing and the familiar tingle of butterflies surge and dance in your stomach. As you began to thaw, your formerly frozen lips turned to form a soft smile, your senses glowing in the new found breath of life.
~*~
"Oh come on Y/N, you can't be serious!" Tadashi stared in disbelief as you made ready to step outside.
"He's right! And you haven't even had breakfast yet!" Aunt Cass joined him, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Hiro nodded, his eyes twinkling and his mouth upturned in a sly grin.
You gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm really sorry but I can't stay. But I want to thank you for everything."
"Oh, it's nothing! But you must come again! I'll be looking forward to it!" aunt Cass cooed as she embraced you, rocking on her feet. You returned it somewhat awkwardly but with sincerity.
Tadashi walked out with you after you bid goodbye to Aunt Cass and Hiro. Pocketing his hands, he kicked an invisible stone on the pavement while you closely studied the lines on the street.
"At least let me drop you off," Tadashi desperately appealed but you adamantly shook your head.
"It's Saturday and I don't want you to waste your morning going back and forth between two extremities of the city."
He exhaled in exasperation and fixed his eyes on his feet. He was hurt; you seemed so unlike yourself, almost distant and strange, like someone he barely knew. After Hiro's untoward intrusion last night, he had been anxious to dismiss embarrassments and hopeful to take a step beyond the threshold of friendship that he had been so close to crossing then.
"I guess I'll get going. Goodbye Tadashi and thanks again for letting me stay." With that and a small wave you were gone and he abstractedly watched you scurry along the pavement until you disappeared.
"Looks like someone didn't get a goodbye kiss," Hiro teased as Tadashi came inside.
Without reprimanding his brother, he plodded to his room with a drooping head and downcast eyes. His aunt and brother shared a curious look but remained quiet.
Tadashi slumped beside the pile of neatly folded clothes on his bed, the ones you had wore only a few hours earlier. He stared at the wall for sometime, crossed his arms and huffed, pouted and finally sighed. It wasn't your fault; last night wasn't exactly ideal and his brother might have added something else to creep you out after he left. An apology felt rather short so he would treat you to lunch at your favourite place and offer to be your guinea pig for a while. And hopefully you two would fall back into your old ways. Hopefully.
He moved to fish his phone from his pocket but in the process, ended up knocking the clothes with his elbow. He groaned in frustration and stooped to gather them but then his eyes caught a ruffle of yellow lying a little further from his shirt. As he picked it up, he immediately recognised the paper and the hand. He began to read with furrowed brows and a racing heart but by the end, he was leaping about the room with joy and then rushing downstairs, flying to the door.
He passed his brother on the stairs and he ruffled his hair in response to which he got a "What the hell is wrong with you?" while his aunt called from the counter "Where are you going?", halting his eager steps.
"I can't believe this! This must be a dream!" he bellowed from the door and sprinted in the direction you had taken before.
"Huh?" Aunt Cass stared after her nephew running in pyjamas and house slippers until Hiro tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a note. She quizzically looked at his smirking face before proceeding to read the following.
"Dear Tadashi,
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Everything seems so beautiful
Because I'm in love with you.
There, now I've said it. Are you mad at me? Will you cease to be my friend? I'm so nervous that I think I'll faint. But because I saw hope in your brother's words, I'm taking this chance. However, the coward in me still dreads your reaction and I flee like Acteon in the woods.
P. S. I'm not exactly a poet so ignore my glaringly poor attempt at writing verses!"