The Right Path

Prologue

1:27am

Tadashi couldn't sleep. He stared blankly at the ceiling, wishing that exhaustion would take over. With the recent events him and his friends endured and today being a huge deal for him, he'd hope his mind would allow him to get the rest he needed. Yet, he was still wide awake after going to bed nearly an hour and a half ago. No matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't stay comfortable for long.

Being awake at unusual hours wasn't unlike him. College life had him accustomed to pulling all-nighters and functioning solely on caffeinated beverages to get through classes the following day. He'd be lucky to sneak in a quick nap. It was a lifestyle that he was anxious and uncertain to dive back into.

The culprit for his wakefulness was his own thoughts. There was a lot on his mind and nothing to distract him from it. His room was too quiet. For as long as he could remember, sounds helped him sleep. As a baby and toddler, it was his mother's angelic lullabies. When he woke up in the night due to a newborn Hiro crying, listening to their mom or dad calming him back to sleep helped him sleep too. Then, for over ten years, it was Hiro.

Growing up, Hiro was a combination of a heavy, noisy sleeper. He could barely move a muscle, but snore half the night. Other nights, he'd shift around, sometimes mumbling incoherent words. None of which ever bothered Tadashi. His snoring wasn't too loud and movements weren't distracting. It was only when he heard Hiro painfully whimpering or shuffling around too abruptly that caused concern.

He'd give anything to hear those sounds again. Whether soft muttering or constant tossing and turning, Tadashi wanted nothing more than the reassurance that his little brother was still here. Sleeping. Breathing. Alive.

It was useless to think that way. No amount of hoping or wishing would bring Hiro back.

Life had taken a hectic turn. Between losing his brother, finding out that someone had stolen Hiro's invention, teaming up with his friends to catch the man in the mask, discovering that the man was his favorite professor, saving the city, saving Callaghan's daughter and losing Baymax was a lot to digest. It all felt like some crazy dream he'd love to wake up from. But this was his reality.

While avenging Hiro put him at ease that his brother was now resting peacefully, Tadashi's heart remained heavy. Nothing felt the same without him running around the house. What kind of invention would he be working on now? What incredible developments would he be adding to his microbots?

With inventions in mind, he couldn't help, but to think about Baymax too. His greatest work. A good friend. Unfortunately now gone too. Although he was his creator, he felt as though he owed Baymax everything. If it wasn't for him, he knew he'd still be closed off on his side on what once was his and Hiro's shared bedroom. He never imagined that his own creation would get him out of the house. Or bring back smiles and laughter that he thought for sure he'd never experience again.

He wanted to hear the sounds Baymax made. The beeping of his charging station, alerting him that he'd be inflating soon. The squeaking of his vinyl as he walked. The monotone voice he programmed him to have. Anything to cure his loneliness.

He wished that Mochi had chosen to sleep with him tonight instead of Aunt Cass. Having the feline curl up next to him and purr as he petted him would maybe be enough to lull him to sleep. At this point, he wished that the clock hanging on Hiro's wall hadn't stopped working so he could hear it tick. He was tempted to change the batteries, but he didn't dare mess with anything on Hiro's side of the room.

He silently thanked each car he could hear drive by. The sounds from outside weren't enough to relax him, but they reminded him that life goes on. Even though he had lost so much in his life recently, he had to at least try to push forward. He wouldn't say he felt ready to go back to school, but wanting some normalcy after everything he's recently been through was more like it.

With his first class being hours away, he needed to figure out how he'd get to sleep. With a frustrated sigh, Tadashi turned to lie on his side. Closing his eyes, he tried to think about the sounds at night that brought him comfort once upon a time. The lullabies his mother sang. His father's kind words. Hiro's soft snores. The more he thought about those calming sounds, the less his mind wandered.

It wasn't long before these memories he loved so dearly soothed him into an untroubled doze.

---

Hello, everyone! Well, I've got a new story in the works and this is it! As you can tell, this is an AU where Hiro has unfortunately died in the fire instead of Tadashi. I've really been enjoying thinking about what the events in the show would be like if this had happened, so I'm turning it into a fanfiction! Obviously, I won't be rewriting every single episode because that would take way too long, but the episodes I will be doing should be fun to reimagine for this AU.

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this prologue! :)