Christmas Without You

Friendship

It was the best sleep Hiro had gotten in almost two weeks. He had crashed before midnight and woke up around eight. The feeling of him getting so much sleep was great, but not even waking up once was even better. Because of this, his morning started off well. Cass could see it too. She saw a twinkle in his eyes as he ate his breakfast at his normal speed again. When he talked in between his bites, there was this excitement that beamed in his voice. He expressed how much he couldn't wait for what was to come later in the day with his friends. It brought a smile to her face to see that her nephew was starting to act like himself again.

Not even an hour later, his friends drove up to the cafe, bidding his aunt a fond farewell. On their way downtown, Hiro asked what they were going to do, but no one told him.

It wasn't long before they made it to downtown San Fransokyo. The streets were buzzing with people. If it wasn't for the the tall Christmas tree standing in the middle of the town square, Hiro wouldn't have figured out what was going on.

An outdoor ice rink.

Hiro had only ice skated a handful of times and only ever this time of year. It had been years since he had been to an ice rink. From what he remembered, ice skating was not something he picked up on. Not even quickly. He couldn't sit comfortably for days after his many tumbles. Was he really going to revisit a fun, but painful place? He couldn't exactly say no; his friends were trying their best to give him a good day. Plus, there was no way he could fall flat on his butt more times than he did before.

Although, he lost count of how many times he actually did. There was no doubt that Hiro had a lot of great skills; balance was not one of them. Not even five seconds on the ice and he already slipped. If people bumped or skated past him to fast, he fell. Sometimes, he'd even fall down just out of nowhere. How embarrassing; a fourteen-year-old college student and leader of a superhero team can't even stay up on ice skates for more than a minute. Even the smaller kids did better than him.

However, every time he fell, one of his friends would always find him and offer to help him back up. For some reason, that helped take the embarrassment out of the way. And after getting back up on his feet again, he was able to laugh it off. Hiro had missed the sound of his own laugh.

After an hour of skating, the gang crossed the street, heading over to a carnival. There wasn't a lot to it, but enough to keep them busy for awhile. Everyone ended up with at least one prize by the end of the day. If there weren't any games sparking anyone's interests, they'd go on a ride. They must have rode the ferris wheel at least five times.

As the sun started to set, the friends all agreed to head back to the car. All of them started talking about their favorite parts from the day. In the middle of it all, Hiro's heart skipped, but in a good way. Looking over at his friends, he was reminded of how lucky he was to have them in his life. He didn't always make the best decisions, but they always stuck by him.

"H-hey, guys?" Hiro stuttered, getting the other four's attention. Once they all faced him, he took in a guilty gulp. "I just wanted to say thanks...for everything."

They all smiles back, but were unsure of what Hiro meant by 'everything'. "Oh, you don't have to thank us at all!" Honey Lemon chirped.

"Yes, I do," Hiro answered, his tone more serious now. "Thank you for always being there for me. I really messed up leaving you all behind after our mission the other night. I thought I wouldn't hear from any of you for a long time. Next thing I know, you show up at my house just to see if I'm okay? You guys are the best. I really don't deserve you..."

Right as he said that, he was pulled into a tight embrace by his friends. All of them surrounded his body in a warm hug.

"Hey, we understand why you got all moody now," Gogo stated. "You're really in a tough spot this year. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't take the time to figure out what's bothering you?"

Hiro sighed. "I'm sorry I never told you about what had me down. I just didn't know how to deal with it and I didn't want to worry you or bring up memories too."

"But you worried us more by not telling us," Wasabi pointed out. "The more you kept your feelings inside, the more you weren't acting like the Hiro we know."

"It's so good to see you smiling again," Fred added.

The four began to squish into the hug a little tighter, suffocating their younger friend. "C-can't.....breathe," Hiro pained out, coughing a little afterwards.

Soon enough, they all began walking again. Not even a minute later, Honey Lemon struck up another conversation. "Y'know, when your aunt brought up that she sees things she wants to buy for Tadashi and can't, it reminded me of something. I went shopping for your gifts last weekend and I was in the clothing section. I saw this really soft, light blue cardigan. It came in Tadashi's size only. It was like it was meant for him. If I hadn't remembered what happened...I probably would have bought it."

By the end of her story, tears were forming in her eyes. It brought a small frown to Hiro's face to see her sad, but the idea made him smile again. "Hey, I'm sure he would have loved it," he commented, the smile getting bigger. "I swear, Tadashi had a cardigan in every color you could think of."

"I know. There was that one week where he wore a different color to school everyday. I was seriously considering hiding them all," Gogo admitted.

"You would have destroyed his mental state, I'm sure," Hiro said, rolling his eyes.

The rest of the walk to the car and even the drive back to the cafe consisted of stories about Tadashi. Hiro shared many embarrassing stories of Tadashi during the holidays. He could barely contain his laughter from what happened last year. Tadashi drank some eggnog that Cass had bought. What he didn't know what that she had added a little alcohol to it. Hiro left the story at Tadashi singing Christmas carols in a really loud, unsettling voice.

The gang told stories about how giddy Tadashi acted. He'd put decorations in his lab and blast Christmas music while working. They all lost track of how many times they caught him singing along.

Once arriving to the cafe, they all came in to greet Cass. She was glad to see how ecstatic Hiro was talking about his day. He thanked them all for a great day and rushed off to his room. As the gang bidded a farewell to Cass, she held them back for a minute.

"Thank you all so much," she said, choking down her sobs. "Because of you, I have my nephew back. Thank you for making him happier again. The Christmas may just be a good one for him."

Not only good, but it became a little better. That last week of school before winter break was stressful, but the gang made the most of it. Everyday after school, they all went over to the cafe or garage to study. They did so for hours on end; except Fred who seemed to just enjoy being in everyone's company. The others envied his lack to study; it must be easy to be the mascot.

If his friends ever needed a pep talk, Hiro was the one to give it. And during his encouraging speeches, he'd often say the similar advice Tadashi would tell him whenever he was stuck. It inspired them all to keep going. The more they remembered, the more they believed they would all get passing grades.

And passed they all did.

With school being out now, all Hiro had to think about was what he wanted to get to everyone. It didn't take much for him to figure it out, but he knew what he wanted to get them all.

Everything seemed to be falling back into place again. 

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Happy Holidays everyone! Yay a really nice lighthearted chapter!! About time, right? Ugh, I meant to post this days ago, but Christmas shopping and family stuff kinda took over. Better late than never, amiright? Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this fic. Aw, it's almost over :( Who's ready for the sixth and final chapter on Christmas day?