A Complicated Web

Chapter Eight: Curious

As an early Christmas gift of sorts, I am posting the next chapter early. I don't want to interrupt my holiday making and don't want to interrupt yours either. Expect the next chapter after this sometime next week.

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Hiro stared up at the ceiling of his room. It was still hard to believe he was sleeping under the same roof as Tony freaking Stark. At least he'd gotten back into the good graces of the rest of his team, namely Wasabi. GoGo hadn't seemed that put out by things and Honey Lemon was just glad he was okay. Fred was chill about the whole thing, at least on the surface, though Hiro suspected he might be holding back on that end. All the same, he was still sleeping under the same roof as Iron Man and that had to be the coolest thing on the planet anyone could boast about.

"You appear to be having difficulty falling asleep," Baymax observed as he stood near the head of the bed, off to Hiro's left side. "Would you like me to play some white noise to help you relax? I recommend sounds of the ocean. I can also play the sounds of San Fransokyo at night."

Hiro shook his head as he lay with his hands behind his head. "That's okay, buddy," he replied. "I've just got a lot on my mind. I'll probably have no problem sleeping once I go through everything." He continued to stare up at the ceiling. So many things had changed in such a short span of time. And now Tony Stark was giving him advice about women. What was up with that? Sure it was in response to Pepper, probably. But what in the world was he thinking? He hadn't even begun to think about dating, let alone about girls.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't strictly true. He was curious, if only a little though. But he had more pressing things on his mind, like how big that auditorium was, or how many people were likely going to be there when he gave his presentation. Now those were things to worry about. The last time he'd given a presentation like that had been to a relatively small crowd, with Tadashi there for moral support. Except he wouldn't be there this time around. At least not physically.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Baymax inquired when Hiro didn't divulge any further information. "Sometimes it is good to talk to someone. It may help calm any anxieties you may be feeling." It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize there was more to Hiro's distraction than simple awe. That and it helped that the healthcare bot could monitor Hiro's vitals in real time.

Hiro turned towards his vinyl companion. "It's just-I don't know." He sat up a bit so he could run one hand through his hair while still looking Baymax in the eyes. "The last time I gave any presentation like this, I had Tadashi with me. And even though I'm more okay with how things happened, I still miss him. That and sleeping under the same roof as Iron Man and meeting that girl today- I just... there's just a lot going on right now."

Baymax detected a slight change in Hiro's heart rate when he mentioned meeting someone outside of his usual group. But it just as quickly went back to normal. However, when he checked on the recorded data, he confirmed the anomaly. "You did not mention meeting anyone of the opposite gender earlier," he stated with a tilt of his head.

The teen genius wasn't sure why Baymax had brought that up, especially when he'd listed off a whole bunch of other worries that were decidedly more pressing. He didn't even know her name. And while he might run into her again during the expo, he wasn't sure if he could muster the courage to go up and ask. "It wasn't any big deal," he fibbed, his heart lurching just a bit at the half truth. "I ran into her when I got separated from everyone else, found her flash drive, and that was the end of it." He let out a sigh as he flopped back against the pillow.

"Your vital signs would suggest otherwise," Baymax informed as he leaned slightly forward. It wasn't the first time Hiro had taken an interest in another girl. Of course, what with being a college student and a super hero, he hadn't exactly done anything to follow up on it either. He hadn't exhibited any of the classic symptoms associated with attraction for some time. Maybe that was slowly changing.