Christmas Without You

Memories

As predicted, his cold blew over in a couple days time. What a long a couple days it was though. Hiro went to school, which only seemed to physically drain him more. He pushed himself to work in his lab on the project he had been putting off. Through all of this, he lost track of how many times he had fallen asleep while attempting to be productive.

Why? Home was just a place he didn't want to be. Everywhere he looked, there was some memory of Tadashi that lingered. All of them were revolving around the holidays. He could still hear his voice waking him up on Christmas morning. When he walked up or down the staircase, it reminded him of the way Tadashi would latch onto his wrist and pull him down the stairs to see the presents under the tree. In the family room, the tree made him think of how much Tadashi loved to decorate it. Sitting on the couch brought back years worth of opening presents and exchanging laughs or thank you's.

In the midst of the night when Hiro has nothing else to do, these memories and more hit him all at once. It was like a sad movie was stuck on repeat. No matter how many times he tried to stop it from playing, they continued on over and over again.

When his memories from Christmas weren't a thought, his memories from being sick in the past were. Cold, stomach flu, allergies and anything in between, Tadashi was always there to make sure Hiro got back to normal. He would constantly nag him to drink fluids or take some medicine and it drove Hiro nuts. He had never missed something so bittersweetly. He had been sick since Tadashi died before, but this was different. It was as if Tadashi had mentally prepared for his seasonal cold. The medicine was close by along with bottles of water. And because this cold would almost always occur in December, it only added to his Christmas memories.

This was his main reason for not getting enough sleep. If he wasn't awake with memory after another, he dreamt about Christmas. Sometimes Tadashi was there like he always had been. Others, he wasn't and Hiro was calling out his name, hoping he'd show up. When he would wake up from these dreams, he could still hear himself yelling for Tadashi. He'd be lucky to fall asleep again.

More than anything, Hiro wanted something to make these memories stop. He wanted -- no, he needed a distraction. Anything to just make him forget about the past. Even if it would only be for a few minutes, he craved for something else to be on his mind.

His silent wish had been answered, yet during a troubling time. Big Hero 6 was needed by the city while they were at school working. Robbery was a common crime for the city, but outbreaks of it arose more during this time of year. Upon hearing breaking news from their local TV station, they all decided to suit up.

Not too long after, they landed in the heart of San Fransokyo. A team of robbers were apparently attempting to flee the scene.

"I have located the patient," Baymax announced, pointing a finger in front of him. "They appear to be escaping behind that building."

Hiro grunted in frustration. "We gotta catch that guy," he stated, facing his friends. "Alright, here's the plan. Gogo and Wasabi, rush over there and catch up to the guy. Don't lose sight of them."

Both nodded in approval before taking off up the street. "Honey and Fred, you're coming with Baymax and I. Once we catch up to Gogo and Wasabi, I'm going to need you both to create some cover, okay?"

"Let's do this!" Fred shouted heroically.

Catching the robber was a piece of cake. In no time the police caught up along with the press to interview the team. Once all was said and done, the group had their alone time. All were exchanging their unanimous disgusts for people who rob during the holiday season. As Hiro was about to say something, something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He wasn't sure why or for what reason, but he looked anyway.