Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Sixteen: That Doesn't Look Good.

With Tadashi gone, Hiro closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair's back as he faced away from his computer. The day had given him plenty to think about and he wasn't sure he liked where his thoughts were going. Too bad Baymax was still at his brother's lab, he thought. It would help to have a sounding board.

Deciding it would be better to be productive than to not be, Hiro decided to turn on his computer. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he stared at a blank word document. Did he really want to type out all that had happened? Even just the highlights offered their own set of problems. It wasn't that he thought is brother would invade his privacy, but there was always the possibility. It wouldn't be the first time he'd accidentally left the monitor on.

Thoughts of Tadashi's soul, spirit, whatever, telling him the only reason he'd known where to find Hiro that one night of the bot fight filled his head. He'd known because Hiro had stupidly left his computer screen turned on. But that small moment had changed so much. His brother had swooped in to save him from a sound beating, one he'd gotten during this lifetime.

Had he left his monitor off this time around? He couldn't remember. It was possible. And because of that small change, he'd had his hind end handed to him in the most painful and embarrassing way imaginable. And it would continue to hurt for weeks. It was amazing how something as simple as forgetting to leave his monitor on had changed circumstances.

That got his brain really thinking. If he changed other things, how would that change the outcome? He'd already tried cutting off Krei and Callaghan's argument and getting Tadashi out of the building before Yokai could set fire to it. That had ended in his getting shot, again, when Callaghan had taken matters into his own hands to get the microbots.

Without thinking, Hiro pulled out the notebook he'd sketched the TARDIS in. He flipped to a new page and began drawing. And the design that came to light was that of his microbots. The process was so familiar that he didn't even have to think about it. He already knew it would work. Part of him knew Tadashi would press for him to join SFIT. He might as well be ready with a design, and the microbots were the first thing that came to mind.

He was so absorbed in sketching out the technical specs that he didn't realize the passage of time. Hiro was hard at work, leaning towards the desk as he wrote out some complex calculations when he heard something heavy being set on the ground. He jerked up without thinking, letting out an exclamation of pain as he tensed his body.

"Sorry," Tadashi apologized as he moved into view. "I didn't mean to startle you." He moved closer to look over Hiro's shoulder. "What are you working on?"

Hiro hurriedly pulled the notebook to his chest, ignoring the pings his body sent out at the rough movement. "N-nothing," he lied with a stutter. His expression, however, said it all.

Tadashi frowned, looking more than a little hurt at his brother's reaction. "I brought Baymax," he said, indicating the red case with a gesture, trying to downplay the incident. It didn't work.

Realizing his actions had caused the brother he'd looked up to a moment of hurt, Hiro mentally berated himself. "I mean, it's nothing much." He looked up hopefully as he closed the notebook and set it down. "I'm just not ready to show it to you yet."

Tadashi's expression cleared at that explanation. "Okay," he said, back to his usual easy-going self. "But I would love to see it when you're done."

Hiro let out a haphazard laugh, mindful of his injuries. "Sure." He wasn't sure if he wanted to share the design or not. After all, he still wasn't sure if he was going to try and rebuild them, using them in the showcase once more. It was decidedly something he had to think about very carefully before implementing. After all, the first time had gotten Tadashi killed. The second time had gotten them both killed. Or so he assumed. Since he hadn't survived being shot, he only had his logic to go on.