I'm Still Here (Hiro x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-One

| Your POV |

"Hiro, I don't think this is a good idea," You say, nervously biting your lip.

"It'll be fine, ___. I'll program Baymax with karate moves. It's going to be epic." Turning to Baymax, he lifts a scanner. "If we're gonna catch that guy, you're going to need some upgrades."

"Will apprehending the man in the mask improve your emotional state?" Baymax asks.

"Absolutely." He types on his keyboard with one hand while he digs into the half empty bag of gummy bears. He shoves a handful in his mouth and chews them quickly.

"We don't even know if this is the guy that started the fire."

"Well, there's a part of me that thinks that the guy isn't a hero. He tried to kill us." Hiro takes a long drink of his soda. "If you don't agree with what I'm doing, then you can leave. I'm not forcing you to do this."

You blink. "Hiro, I'm just asking you to think through this. I don't disagree on what you're doing-"

"Good, then hold these," Hiro hands you a stack of papers that he printed out. "These are the designs. Now for the fun part."

After hours of programming and building and scanning, Hiro is fitting the final pieces of armor on Baymax. Baymax stands still, observing the armor. Hiro falls back into his chair and nods in accomplishment at his completed work.

"I have some concerns. This may undermine my non threatening, huggable design," Baymax says.

"That's kind of the idea, buddy. You look sick."

"I cannot be sick. I am a robot."

Hiro laugh and rolls his eyes. "It's a figure of speech."

"Data complete," the computer announces. Hiro kicks off of the floor and his chair glides across the room and stops at the computer. Hiro removes the new chip. You and Baymax walk to his side. He shoots up and excitedly opens Baymax's access port. He stops. You look up and see the healthcare chip. Tadashi Hamada. Hiro doesn't remove the chip, much to your relief. Instead, he slides the red one next to it. Baymax's port closes and he straightens up. Hiro steps away for a minute.

"I fail to see how karate makes me a better healthcare companion."

Hiro smiles, "You want to keep me healthy, don't you?" He holds up a wooden board. "Punch this!" Baymax obeys, his fist hitting the board with a crazy amount of force. The wood breaks in half, splintering in hundreds of pieces. "Yes!"

Hiro then launches into a training session of many karate moves. "Hammer fist! Side kick! Knife hand! Back kick! More gummy bears!"

After a stop at a nearby vending machine, you and Hiro sit back with your snacks and watch Baymax practice his moves. For a minute, everything seems normal. You almost expect Tadashi to walk through the garage door. Instead, Hiro stands up.

"Yes! Fist bump!" He says, holding his fist out to Baymax.

"Fist bump is not in my fighting database," Baymax responds.

You smile. "No," Hiro says, holding back a laugh. "It's not a fighting thing. It's something people do when they're excited or pumped up. Watch."

He turns to you and waves you up. You smile. You, Hiro, and Tadashi used to do this all of the time, whenever Aunt Cass would buy the boys another video game or order a pizza. He hits his palm against yours, and then the back of his hand. He grins when you both hit your fists against each other. Both of you make explosion noises before turning back to Baymax. "Ready to try, buddy?" Hiro does the same to Baymax.

"Bah-a-la-la-la!" Baymax says. You let out a light laugh. Hiro glances over at you and smiles. "I will add 'fist bump' to my care giving matrix."

"Good," Hiro says. "Now come on. We've got a villain to catch."