Wanted [REWRITE]

Chapter 7 - A Proper Introduction

It was a lot to take in. You had imagined a few different outcomes of what would happen when you came to the café for help, but you never would've guessed that they'd offer for you to stay there.

It had been an hour since Tadashi left to help out in the café, and you hadn't left your new room in that time. You spoke to Hiro briefly when he brought Ash upstairs for you, before he left to take a shower. The dog now sat on the foot of your bed, taking a nap. Honestly, you were tempted to do the same, but you were almost afraid that if you fell asleep, you would wake up to realize that this had all been a dream.

Better to stay awake and try to process everything.

There came a soft knock on your door. "Y/n?"

"Come in," you called to whoever was outside.

It was Hiro.

He glanced around the room, seeming to notice your lack of belongings. "Getting settled in?"

"Ha. Yeah, it's been a chore." You rubbed between Ash's ears. "Tadashi said we could go shopping tomorrow or something."

Hiro glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just past noon. "You got any plans for the rest of today?" he asked.

"No, why?"

"I was thinking maybe we should go out." The words hung in the air for half a second before Hiro realized how they sounded. His face flushed. "I meant-- not like that, I just-- since we're gonna be seeing each other a lot, we should probably get to know each other."

You laughed a bit, hoping your own face wasn't red. "Yeah, no, I know what you mean. We should."

"Great." Hiro's smile reached his eyes. "I'll let you get ready, then. Just let me know when you want to head out."

~

Half an hour later, you stepped out of the shower. You had almost forgotten what it felt like to have hot, running water, and you were ready to get used to that feeling again. You got dressed in some clothes you had borrowed from Aunt Cass and dried your hair the best you could, resolving to just throw it into a braid.

Once you told Hiro you were ready to go, he led you down the stairs and out of the café. As you passed Aunt Cass, Hiro just told her that the two of you would be back for dinner, but he didn't elaborate until you were walking down the street.

"So--" Hiro turned to look at you while you walked-- "how do you feel about robotics?"

"It's cool, but I don't know much about it," you admitted. "Why?"

"Tadashi and I both go to SFIT. That's the tech school on the other side of the park. I was thinking maybe I could show you around my lab."

You agreed, letting Hiro lead you through the streets of San Fransokyo. He pointed out some of his favorite places as you passed them: the ice cream parlour, the comic book store, the movie theater, and anything else that had an interesting story attached to it.

"That's the arcade where Fred got banned for life," Hiro told you casually. "He punched a hole through a few of the game screens. By accident, but still."

You looked through the window as you passed it, trying to imagine the things Hiro was saying. The two of you kept walking.

Hiro continued with the stories until you reached the college. Once you walked through the doors, he stopped himself in the middle of another story.

"Oh, you're gonna love this."

He opened a door at the end of a hallway, letting you walk into the room before him.