Home. A Big hero 6 fanfiction

Chapter 2: A walk to remember

It has been 3 hours since he's left the house. Yet he still walked on, despite his aching legs. His face held a full expression, which was rarely noticeable when other people were around, but, he was alone today, so he could look as sad as he felt for once. There was a reason no one was out today, other than a few people. Today was a cold, harsh day- there was freezing mist hanging in the air, and there was a cold gust of wind that seemed constant blowing through the trees. Tadashi didn't mind at all. He was in far too deep of thought to even notice that his hat was coated in a thin layer of frost, and that his body was littered with chill bumps. Today was just a boring, cold, depressing day. There was absolutely nothing special about it. Just... dull.
Why did everyone always expect so much from him? He was only 18 for crying out loud! Why did HE have to be expected to do everything and never have a problem with it? Why wasn't he allowed to make mistakes? Why wasn't he allowed to cry or scream? Why... Why wasn't he allowed to be human? All these thoughts were invading his brain at once, and he felt tears roll down his cheeks. They were hot on his flesh, leaving him momentary warmth on his face. His face was red and warm, and his eyes were puffy and wet. His normally sparkling dark brown eyes were dull and lifeless. He sighed, and gl for the first time since he left, stopped in his tracks. What was he doing here? If all his happiness and smiles were all fake, what was the point in even pretending they were real anymore? Ever since his parents had died... He had been so alone. He didn't have anyone but his Aunt Cass, who barely knew how to take care of a child. She was kind and gentle to him, but didn't speak to him much, considering she was constantly working or busy. She didn't have time for a kid. Yet, she had Tadashi. He must be a huge pain, and he must constantly be in the way. He had friends at SFIT university. Gogo, Fred, Honeylemon, and Wasabi. They weren't anything like what he needed. They were nice to him, and talked to him, and seemed interested in his words and inventions. But they saw right through his pain, too. Just like everyone else did. Why couldn't he have someone who saw his pain? Why couldn't have have someone that didn't need to he told that he was sad or confused... Why couldn't-
"Hey, buddy, you alright?" Tadashi was immediately snapped out of his thoughts by the young voice, and looked up to see a young boy, maybe no older than 15, staring up at him. "Hellooo, earth to stranger?" He waved his tiny hand in front of Tadashi's face dramatically, which snapped him back to reality once more. "Oh, uh... Yeah. I'm fine kid." He responded a little more coldly than he had wanted to. "Well, hey hey, wait a minute!" He heard the footsteps of the child grow closer to him from where he must have started walking again. "What do you want?" Tadashi snapped, looking back at the child, who was now standing a few feet away from him. "Well, it looks like you've been crying. And, if I knew any better... I'd say that crying isn't usually what someone does when their 'Fine.' He said, raising an eyebrow as if he had just won a million dollars from someone. "H- how could you tell?" He asked him, honestly wondering how a random child could possibly tell he was upset and crying when he had made sure he wasn't making a sound. "Well, your all slumped over, your dragging your feet, and you seem in pretty deep thought. Oh, and your cheeks are all wet, and I'm pretty sure it's not raining." He stated smugly. Tadashi was shocked that this... Child would actually notice something so subtle. "What's your name?" The boy looked up, seemingly startled by the question. Then, he grinned widely, and beamed up at Tadashi. "I'm Hiro. Hiro Tamagachi." Tadashi nodded, suddenly intrigued by this.... Hiro. He WAS just a stranger, but- now that he was getting a good look at him, he didn't seem like a normal kid.
His clothes were filthy. Probably half of them was covered in dirt or random filth. His cargo shorts, which he really shouldn't be wearing in 20 degree weather, were littered with holes and rips. His red shirt was the same way, and when his navy blue jacket slid off one shoulder, he saw that one sleeve of his shirt was ripped completely off. His jacket seemed to be awfully thin and worn, and he could tell there was ONCE a hood on the back of it, until apparently it was also ripped to shreds. His shoes were untied, and, no- his left shoe didn't even HAVE laces. They were duck taped together in some places, and were ripping at the seams. Although, he didn't only pay attention to his attire. He also paid VERY close attention to his looks in general.
He had huge, owlish eyes that were a beautiful caramel chocolate brown, and his eyelashes were incredibly thick. His smile was wide and so REAL, and he had a gap in the center of his front teeth that he found to be indescribably adorable. His nose was small and button like, and had a tint of red on it along with his cheeks. And his hair- oh jeez, his hair. It was a mess. It was pitch black, and extremely thick. It was covering his eyes slightly, and there were strands and pieces of it flying in almost every direction. This Hiro really was a cute kid.
"What? Can't get enough of my charming and amazing looks?" Hiro joked, quirking an eyebrow and raising his hands to show off himself. For the first time all day, Tadashi smiled a genuine smile. "I was just thinking." Hiro scoffed. "Man, you sure do think a lot. Let me guess, you're a college boy, aren't you?" Tadashi rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I am. I go to SFIT university." Hiro gasped dramatically, and suddenly beamed up at Tadashi like a puppy who had received praise. "You go to the nerd school?!" Tadashi laughed, and nodded. "yep. I'm a freshman nerd." Hiro laughed, showing off his gapped teeth, and clapped his hands. "Oh, man! I've always wanted to go there!" Tadashi raised an eyebrow for probably the 70th time that day, and looked at Hiro. "Well... You know, that school isn't exactly for normal people. Besides, you've still got high school, and-" Hiro interrupted him. "Wow. Telling a 16 year old he doesn't have a chance at college. That's low, man." He said dramatically sad, faking disappointment. "Oh, no no! You.. It's just that-" Hiro interrupted him again, laughing. "Hey chill, college boy! I'm just messing with you. I know that SFIT is for geniuses. I'm not stupid. Oh, and I don't go to school anymore." Tadashi sighed in relief, and started walking again subconsciously, with Hiro towing behind him. "Oh, you don't do you? Are you a dropout?" Tadashi asked, feeling like he finally had the kid cornered for once. Alas, he was wrong. "Nope. I graduated already, doofus." Tadashi stopped in his tracks. "What? You're only 16!" He found himself smiling now, looking back at Hiro's smug face. "Yep. I graduated at 13. " "wow... That's... Amazing! You must be a pretty smart kid, then." Hiro snorted. "If by smart you mean a certified genius. I've got an IQ of 165." Tadashi wanted to scream. "No freaking way! That's like... Einstein smart!" Hiro giggled. "Hey, I like you college boy. You're funny." Tadashi found himself blushing for some reason, and then pouted. "hey! I have a name you know! It's Tadashi. And, why are you out in this freezing weather? And shouldn't you be wearing warmer clothes? Where's your parents? Here, take my jacket!" Tadashi found himself blabbing on and on, for some reason suddenly very worried about Hiro's well being. He handed Hiro his jacket, and he put it on. "Hey, thanks big guy. Oh, and to answer your questions, I'm used to the cold, I don't have any other clothes, and my parents are dead." Tadashi felt his heart drop. The kid was homeless. How could he have missed that? He felt like such a jerk. He didn't even have a family. "I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I mean, I didn't realize-" he sighed, feeling defeated, although he didn't know by what. "Don't sweat it. They died when I was 5. That was 11 years ago." Tadashi felt confused. "You couldn't possibly have been homeless at 5 years old?" Now it was Hiro's turn to roll his eyes at the other's "incompetence." "Well, I DID live in an Orphanage for a while. But, they didn't exactly treat me well, so I finally ran off when I was eleven. I've been all over- but I eventually came here and "settled in." He used his figures for quotations around 'settled in' and Tadashi felt his heart drop once more. He wanted to ask what they had done to him to be considered "bad treatment", but there's no telling what they have done, so he didn't say anything. "And you're, 16 now?" "Yeah. I'll be 17 in about a month. I mean... I think. I forget when my birthday is sometimes." Tadashi wanted to hug him and give him warmth right then and there, but held back. He didn't want to scare Hiro off. "I can't.. I can't just leave you here like this." Tadashi whispered under his breath, mainly talking to himself. Hiro didn't seem to here him. "Hey, is that... A sandwich in your backpack?" Hiro asked, pointing at Tadashi's bag. Tadashi had taken note of Hiro's backpack, that seemed much too big against his frail form, and seemed to be full of something. However, he was pretty certain it wasn't food on the count of him being able to COUNT the bones sticking out of his body. "Uh, yeah. Do you want it?" Hiro smiled and gasped, and yanked it greedily out of his hands: he didn't exactly mind, though. The kid looked hungry. "Mmm..." He mumbled through a full mouth, chewing with delight. Half of the sandwich was already gone. "Thanks, college boy!" Tadashi smiled warmly, his eyebrows furrowing with interest and concern. "Hey... Uh... Do you need a place to stay? I live with my aunt Cass in a sma cafe/bakery. You'd have plenty to eat, and we have a spare bedroom- I mean, it's up to you, i-" before he knew it, Hiro's tiny, thin, frail arms were wrapped around his neck, and he noticed Hiro had to stand on his tiptoes just to reach up there. Tadashi blinked in shock, but returned the gesture immediately. "Thank you. I'd love to." And in the moment the small homeless boy climbed on Tadashi's back for a demanding "ride back home", he knew he had fallen head over heals for this boy.