[He can't help the small pout that follows her laughter. Even if it's not mean and it's quiet it's still something that makes him wonder what he's really missing here. He's done his best to avoid prying eyes in his research and though he's gone some sleepless nights here, he's doing better than he was. Cerealia and the people in it have been good for him.]
I take breaks. Sometimes I even remember to eat three times a day. [It's a joke (albeit a bad one) but that's hardly the focus. Ruby tells him to ignore that but it's a little hard to do so.] ...I'm right here, dude. When haven't I been around?
[...other than the time he disappeared in the jungle after Tadashi's death. And the last tower raid. And a good chunk of the days following that. And okay, maybe she has a point. In the time their conversation takes, Baymax...has decided to start shuffling around trying to help clear up Ruby's room and also making sure to fetch extra blankets. Feverish symptoms means she has to stay warm, even if she's not registering a temperature, after all.]
[He asks, and... she just gives him a sad little smile, shrugging a little awkwardly. She's noticed when he hasn't been around, of course. All of those times when he goes charging into dangerous situations and has to pay the price, either physically or emotionally.
Times when they can't just...sit and build together, when they can't just sit and talk like this.]
I bet it sounds silly, but... I just get a little worried sometimes.
[Did it really have that much of an impact? He's not sure and he likes to think that maybe, just maybe, he can fool her all the times he barrels off into something dangerous and he can put up a front for her without questions. That she wouldn't notice if he was hurt or scared or anything of the sort. But of course that's a stupid thing to think, considering the one thing she'd said to him that still stuck with him.
'So... don't look so sad, okay? Like, when you smile but still look kind of sad anyway--you don't have to do that.'
If it was obvious to her back then, it was probably more obvious now. Worrying her wasn't part of the plan and his expression goes blank as he thinks of a way to explain himself.]
...I think I'm still getting used to people really worrying about me again. [Don'tsayitdon'tsayitdon'tsayit.] After Tadashi died I stopped noticing for a while. I got used to doing things on my own and then I accidentally activated Baymax and he overworried, and then he got my friends involved and I still kinda just did things without thinking. Being here and having friends and knowing that they're watching what I'm doing and worry about it still isn't the first thing I think about. [He ducks his head slightly, almost apologetic.] And with you it's even more different because you're not like my other friends.
I'm working to find answers so that all of us don't have things to worry about. But it kinda sounds like I just made it worse.
[She didn't really mean to make the moment sour, but... this is the sort of thing she has to say, too. Ultimately, she pushes herself into a sitting position despite the momentary dizziness. This is important. She wants to be upright for it, despite her body's current rebellion.
Because the things Hiro's saying... he's been alone for too long, and he's had to deal with too much, and even so...]
... I mean... I get it, I think. [She shrugs a little, smiling weakly.] When mom died, dad went kinda... well, he wasn't all there. And I had Yang, but even so, we were kind of on our own.
[A beat.]
But...! That's why it's even more important! [She even clenches her hand into a fist before her, to show how determined she is.] That we do things like... like making s'mores! Did you know that Yang's gauntlets get warm enough to roast marshmallows over? It's a thing, it's pretty cool-- I mean uh. And playing video games! And building things!
So... let's keep doing those things too, okay? Don't leave[me] us behind.
[He has half a mind to tell her to lay down again and not do that, but he knows she's not going to listen and that this is important. Before he can even stop her she's up and he suddenly registers something.]
...that's what Yang meant when she said you'd understand. [It's mumbled under his breath, realization crossing his face before he shakes his head and hears the rest.] Aunt Cass has always been good to us since we moved in with her. I kind of wonder if she felt like that about me when Tadashi left.
[Left. The word "died" is still a touchy subject, it seems, something he can only say now and again. The rest of what she says hits him and it doesn't sound so bad. It doesn't sound bad to do stupid things like play games and goof off and--]
Wait, they can do that? [That's almost impressive. He shakes his head suddenly, snapping out of his stupor and focusing on her.] I'm not going to leave anybody else behind. [Else. Like Baymax.] We're going to have a lot of time to do those things. I just might...need help remembering that, sometimes. [It's a big thing to admit, needing help like that. And speaking of:] You really should be laying down, you know. You're going to make your head worse.
[She smiles more brightly at that, because all that really matters to her is that he's trying. He's trying, and he's not trying to be totally lone wolf, which means... he probably won't leave her behind.
She doesn't want to lose anyone else. People should always be heroes, and help people, and save people... but they shouldn't leave behind the people that matter, either.
(Ruby doesn't want to have to talk to any more graves.)
So she'll just flop back onto her back with a soft "oof", staring at the ceiling.]
I'll help you remember. You can count on me. I'll help, and we can do all of these things, and other things too, and it'll be...really great.
[He's definitely going to try, if not for her at least for himself. She's a huge motivation to that though because he knows she's right and he has to really get it in his head that people won't leave and that not all people are scary. The nerds from the lab back home weren't scary. Ruby's not scary either. It's a learning process of getting close to people without the fear that they'll be ripped away without warning, too.
When she moves to lay on her back he glances at her before sitting up on his knees, shifting all of the stuff from his bag to a small corner and crawling up toward the head of the bed, settling next to her so they're side by side even if he remains sitting. Baymax shuffles back in with blankets he pulled from god knows where, setting them neatly at the foot of the bed.]
I know I can. Count on you, I mean. I count on you for a lot of things, remember? [There's a small grin and he's seemingly satisfied with her laying down and resting again even as an idea hits him.]
[She's glad he moved, really--now she can shift her gaze from the ceiling to him, grinning brightly. If he counts on her, then she's satisfied. If he tries, she's happy. She's a simple soul, after all, and if he's trying, that means... he won't leave her behind.
[Her enthusiasm's up which means she can't be feeling too badly (physically or emotionally) which is good. The last thing he wants to do is make her feel worse and it's weird how even just seeing her smile helps balance things out. What the hell was happening? When did that become a thing that was normal and acceptable?
Still, when she agrees he matches her grin and gestures for Baymax to come closer and stop before verbally providing him with a date and instructions to slow whatever it is down to a portion of its speed. Without another word, a light flickers and soon Baymax's stomach turns into another display. This time instead of showing Ruby's stats it's a video. It's clear that it's supposed to be moving much faster but it's enough to hopefully get across what he's sharing.]
I was doing some maintenance on Baymax the other day and found a whole bunch of video clips he keeps stored in his memory. [Another large grin.] This is San Fransokyo. [And his first time testing their armor and maybe he should realize he's lucky they didn't die but whatever. This is fine. The video's dim enough so that it doesn't hurt her eyes but bright enough to show the details of the city.] It's where Tadashi and I are from.
Edited (lets close html tags, me) 2015-12-13 07:57 (UTC)
[This is exactly the sort of cool thing she wasn't expecting, but can entirely agree is awesome. Her eyes light up as she watches, totally engaged and engrossed.
(Sure, he probably could've gotten himself killed, but Ruby's not concerned about that either--it's Hiro, after all. He knows what he's doing, and sometimes heroics takes some risks.)
So instead, she's both engaged in the flight attempts and in the city itself.]
Heh... you were like me when I first started. [Terrible, in other words--but they're both better now, so it's fine.] It's really beautiful though, Hiro... it's so bright! And look at everyone!
[Beacon's a bustling place, but even so...there's a difference to it, too. And nevermind Patch.] This is your world...?
[He's a little disappointed in himself that he can't show her anything that's really cool, the real pieces of his world that're incredible and maybe he could have prepared himself better for seeing her but...she seems to like it. And that's enough for him. He's making himself comfortable on her bed as he's watching the video, internally cringing at the sound of his own voice as Baymax continually scares the crap out of him.]
Hey, it's not like I've ever done this before. You don't even wanna know how our first run as superheroes went. [A beat.] We ended up attacking a pigeon and still missed. A lot. [He's carefully leaving out the part where he panicked and dove to hide behind Baymax. Ehem. Anyway. There's a grin because San Fransokyo's still home and he misses it way more than he'll admit. He knows it's still out there. It's just a matter of getting back.]
You should see it at night with all of the lights and everything. I don't think there's any place I'd rather live. But this is just a part of our world. The whole earth is really huge. California's pretty big, too. San Fransokyo alone is home to almost 900,000 people. [Annnd up into the sky with the air balloons.] I miss it a lot. Cerealia sometimes comes close to a smaller version of it but it's not quite the same. I kinda wish I could show you all the really cool parts of the city.
[Don't worry, Hiro, she's totally charmed. Even if she does end up laughing at the thought of Hiro attacking pigeons...especially with Baymax.
(She also doesn't miss Baymax's comment about Hiro's "treatment", but it doesn't take a genius to realize that he means his healing from the accident he told her about.
She'll keep quiet about it for now.)]
Whaaaat, so the pigeon won?
[She's joking, it's obvious on her face, but she can't resist the response even so. Ribbing Hiro comes easily, what can she say? Still, his city... his world, even--it all sounds amazing to her.]
... I wish I could see it, too. I keep wondering what worlds without Grimm are like. [Hiro's world is clearly the best option for sight-seeing.] And then you could give me a tour!
[Thank you, Ruby. He'd rather not really talk about his treatment or his dead brother or the fact that he's still in recovery mode. This is better. Charming Ruby Rose is apparently much better and high up on his priority list. Still, he can't help but gently push on the side of her head when she teases him.]
Shut up. It was a pretty big pigeon, okay? [It wasn't. They just messed up really bad.] I imagine worlds without Grimm are probably quieter, but we just have different kinds of monsters than you do. Usually they take the form of people. [It's...weirdly profound, maybe, and he doesn't say anything else about it, quickly sliding into another subject.] Anyway, I don't even know where we'd go first if I could ever show you the city. Sometimes I wonder if we could rebuild our worlds using whatever code CERES says they've recovered. And anyway our world isn't like yours. We don't have Semblances or anything. You might get bored.
[She sways with the shove, but not in a bad way; being around him seems to be doing wonders for her general state of health and energy. So she smiles, giggling a little at the response, but the words...
Monsters who take the form of people, huh... that makes her uncomfortable for reasons she can't quite pinpoint, so she's going to focus on what she wants to talk about instead.]
[Baymax seems to pick up on the fact that her general state is improving, but it's not like Hiro needs his robot to tell him that. He can see it himself and he's pretty pleased with himself. (Later, of course, he'll probably agonize over it but whatever that's later.) The conversation's easier than most things in his life and he shifts a little so he's more on his side to face her and Baymax than sitting straight up.]
Oh yeah? Even if all I did was sit here and draw robots all day instead of showing you stuff that's stored in Baymax's memory? I do wanna revisit my blueprints for our pancake-bot. [Said-bot hasn't been started but maybe he's just curious how far he can push her.]
[It's said so solemnly, because she means it. She likes watching him work, and she likes his company, so honestly, she doesn't need him going out of his way to entertain her (though she also really appreciates that).
[He's genuinely laughing even as he tips a little, moving out of the way so she's not pushing him too hard. Oh Ruby. You're so fun to mess with.]
Come on. It's our project, remember? I'd be a pretty bad partner if I started without you. I've been drawing some other stuff up, just not that. [He tilts his head then.] If your head's not hurting too much maybe we can start drawing some stuff out together.
Yeah, well, at least your older sibling didn't build a whole robot to try and nanny you. [That's not exactly what Baymax was for, but Hiro's not dumb enough to ignore that he probably served as inspiration for the nursebot. Once he's sure Ruby's going to stay down he moves, shifting again to grab for another notebook and a red marker.]
She's just worried about you. And anyway how're we supposed to protect the city if you're not getting any better?
I know it's boring to stay in one place. Trust me. [He's drawing something in his notebook then before nudging her into her arm and handing her the marker. Apparently he decided to start a game of tic-tac-toe and chose Xs.]
Is Naoki just as bad? [As Yang, he means. He'd sort of figured out that they all live together just from the small sweep of the apartment he'd done earlier.]
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I take breaks. Sometimes I even remember to eat three times a day. [It's a joke (albeit a bad one) but that's hardly the focus. Ruby tells him to ignore that but it's a little hard to do so.] ...I'm right here, dude. When haven't I been around?
[...other than the time he disappeared in the jungle after Tadashi's death. And the last tower raid. And a good chunk of the days following that. And okay, maybe she has a point. In the time their conversation takes, Baymax...has decided to start shuffling around trying to help clear up Ruby's room and also making sure to fetch extra blankets. Feverish symptoms means she has to stay warm, even if she's not registering a temperature, after all.]
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Times when they can't just...sit and build together, when they can't just sit and talk like this.]
I bet it sounds silly, but... I just get a little worried sometimes.
[...]
That's all.
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'So... don't look so sad, okay? Like, when you smile but still look kind of sad anyway--you don't have to do that.'
If it was obvious to her back then, it was probably more obvious now. Worrying her wasn't part of the plan and his expression goes blank as he thinks of a way to explain himself.]
...I think I'm still getting used to people really worrying about me again. [Don'tsayitdon'tsayitdon'tsayit.] After Tadashi died I stopped noticing for a while. I got used to doing things on my own and then I accidentally activated Baymax and he overworried, and then he got my friends involved and I still kinda just did things without thinking. Being here and having friends and knowing that they're watching what I'm doing and worry about it still isn't the first thing I think about. [He ducks his head slightly, almost apologetic.] And with you it's even more different because you're not like my other friends.
I'm working to find answers so that all of us don't have things to worry about. But it kinda sounds like I just made it worse.
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Because the things Hiro's saying... he's been alone for too long, and he's had to deal with too much, and even so...]
... I mean... I get it, I think. [She shrugs a little, smiling weakly.] When mom died, dad went kinda... well, he wasn't all there. And I had Yang, but even so, we were kind of on our own.
[A beat.]
But...! That's why it's even more important! [She even clenches her hand into a fist before her, to show how determined she is.] That we do things like... like making s'mores! Did you know that Yang's gauntlets get warm enough to roast marshmallows over? It's a thing, it's pretty cool-- I mean uh. And playing video games! And building things!
So... let's keep doing those things too, okay? Don't leave[me] us behind.
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...that's what Yang meant when she said you'd understand. [It's mumbled under his breath, realization crossing his face before he shakes his head and hears the rest.] Aunt Cass has always been good to us since we moved in with her. I kind of wonder if she felt like that about me when Tadashi left.
[Left. The word "died" is still a touchy subject, it seems, something he can only say now and again. The rest of what she says hits him and it doesn't sound so bad. It doesn't sound bad to do stupid things like play games and goof off and--]
Wait, they can do that? [That's almost impressive. He shakes his head suddenly, snapping out of his stupor and focusing on her.] I'm not going to leave anybody else behind. [Else. Like Baymax.] We're going to have a lot of time to do those things. I just might...need help remembering that, sometimes. [It's a big thing to admit, needing help like that. And speaking of:] You really should be laying down, you know. You're going to make your head worse.
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[She smiles more brightly at that, because all that really matters to her is that he's trying. He's trying, and he's not trying to be totally lone wolf, which means... he probably won't leave her behind.
She doesn't want to lose anyone else. People should always be heroes, and help people, and save people... but they shouldn't leave behind the people that matter, either.
(Ruby doesn't want to have to talk to any more graves.)
So she'll just flop back onto her back with a soft "oof", staring at the ceiling.]
I'll help you remember. You can count on me. I'll help, and we can do all of these things, and other things too, and it'll be...really great.
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When she moves to lay on her back he glances at her before sitting up on his knees, shifting all of the stuff from his bag to a small corner and crawling up toward the head of the bed, settling next to her so they're side by side even if he remains sitting. Baymax shuffles back in with blankets he pulled from god knows where, setting them neatly at the foot of the bed.]
I know I can. Count on you, I mean. I count on you for a lot of things, remember? [There's a small grin and he's seemingly satisfied with her laying down and resting again even as an idea hits him.]
Wanna see something kinda cool?
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That's enough.
So she perks right up at his words, naturally.]
Do you even have to ask? Of course I do!
[HIT HER WITH THE COOL STUFF.]
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Still, when she agrees he matches her grin and gestures for Baymax to come closer and stop before verbally providing him with a date and instructions to slow whatever it is down to a portion of its speed. Without another word, a light flickers and soon Baymax's stomach turns into another display. This time instead of showing Ruby's stats it's a video. It's clear that it's supposed to be moving much faster but it's enough to hopefully get across what he's sharing.]
I was doing some maintenance on Baymax the other day and found a whole bunch of video clips he keeps stored in his memory. [Another large grin.] This is San Fransokyo. [And his first time testing their armor and maybe he should realize he's lucky they didn't die but whatever. This is fine. The video's dim enough so that it doesn't hurt her eyes but bright enough to show the details of the city.] It's where Tadashi and I are from.
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(Sure, he probably could've gotten himself killed, but Ruby's not concerned about that either--it's Hiro, after all. He knows what he's doing, and sometimes heroics takes some risks.)
So instead, she's both engaged in the flight attempts and in the city itself.]
Heh... you were like me when I first started. [Terrible, in other words--but they're both better now, so it's fine.] It's really beautiful though, Hiro... it's so bright! And look at everyone!
[Beacon's a bustling place, but even so...there's a difference to it, too. And nevermind Patch.] This is your world...?
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Hey, it's not like I've ever done this before. You don't even wanna know how our first run as superheroes went. [A beat.] We ended up attacking a pigeon and still missed. A lot. [He's carefully leaving out the part where he panicked and dove to hide behind Baymax. Ehem. Anyway. There's a grin because San Fransokyo's still home and he misses it way more than he'll admit. He knows it's still out there. It's just a matter of getting back.]
You should see it at night with all of the lights and everything. I don't think there's any place I'd rather live. But this is just a part of our world. The whole earth is really huge. California's pretty big, too. San Fransokyo alone is home to almost 900,000 people. [Annnd up into the sky with the air balloons.] I miss it a lot. Cerealia sometimes comes close to a smaller version of it but it's not quite the same. I kinda wish I could show you all the really cool parts of the city.
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(She also doesn't miss Baymax's comment about Hiro's "treatment", but it doesn't take a genius to realize that he means his healing from the accident he told her about.
She'll keep quiet about it for now.)]
Whaaaat, so the pigeon won?
[She's joking, it's obvious on her face, but she can't resist the response even so. Ribbing Hiro comes easily, what can she say? Still, his city... his world, even--it all sounds amazing to her.]
... I wish I could see it, too. I keep wondering what worlds without Grimm are like. [Hiro's world is clearly the best option for sight-seeing.] And then you could give me a tour!
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Shut up. It was a pretty big pigeon, okay? [It wasn't. They just messed up really bad.] I imagine worlds without Grimm are probably quieter, but we just have different kinds of monsters than you do. Usually they take the form of people. [It's...weirdly profound, maybe, and he doesn't say anything else about it, quickly sliding into another subject.] Anyway, I don't even know where we'd go first if I could ever show you the city. Sometimes I wonder if we could rebuild our worlds using whatever code CERES says they've recovered. And anyway our world isn't like yours. We don't have Semblances or anything. You might get bored.
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Monsters who take the form of people, huh... that makes her uncomfortable for reasons she can't quite pinpoint, so she's going to focus on what she wants to talk about instead.]
Nnnnnope. I don't think so.
[It's said so simply.]
I don't think I can get bored around you.
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Oh yeah? Even if all I did was sit here and draw robots all day instead of showing you stuff that's stored in Baymax's memory? I do wanna revisit my blueprints for our pancake-bot. [Said-bot hasn't been started but maybe he's just curious how far he can push her.]
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[It's said so solemnly, because she means it. She likes watching him work, and she likes his company, so honestly, she doesn't need him going out of his way to entertain her (though she also really appreciates that).
A beat.
Wait for it.
It's sinking in.]
... Hiro, did you really start it without me?
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Of course not. But good to know I've got your attention.
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And then she shoves him.]
You're so mean.
[But she's smiling, because she's glad he hasn't started without her after all.]
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Come on. It's our project, remember? I'd be a pretty bad partner if I started without you. I've been drawing some other stuff up, just not that. [He tilts his head then.] If your head's not hurting too much maybe we can start drawing some stuff out together.
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[She looks so pleased, even so. Quietly pleased.]
My head's okay though! I'm definitely up for something like that!
[She says, as she sits up too fast and the vertigo causes her to fall right back to the bed.
Whumph.]
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I'm pretty sure this is actually the opposite of up. [Just sayin'.] No wonder Yang's making you stay in bed today.
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Yang's a tyrant.
[hmph.]
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She's just worried about you. And anyway how're we supposed to protect the city if you're not getting any better?
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[Sorry, Hiro, you're on your own there. Tadashi's his own breed of older sibling.
Though Yang comes close in her own ways. Anyway, Ruby sighs at that; she knows he's right, but still.]
I know, I knowww... anyway, you're here, so I can't complain that it's boring anymore. I just don't like lying around like this for very long.
I'll stay put though.
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Is Naoki just as bad? [As Yang, he means. He'd sort of figured out that they all live together just from the small sweep of the apartment he'd done earlier.]
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