moments with you.

2. Cookies

2.

GoGo Tomago is annoyed. Irked. Miffed. Bothered. In other words, very very upset.

The electro-magnetic wheels she's trying to invent keeps falling apart, its blueprints are starting to look fuzzy to her, her last piece of gum is turning stale, and GoGo feels her frustration mounting by the second. Blowing a large bubble and popping it loudly, GoGo sighs and spits out the gum into the trash can. Everyone had long went home with a productive day of research and inventions. She swears even Tadashi is getting his marshmallow-bot, Baymax-or-some-other-name together.

So why was she the only one with wheels that refuse to stay intact?

GoGo's stomach grumbles. She skipped out on dinner earlier in an attempt to make up for the lack of positive results with her invention, but it had ended in vain. GoGo doubts that there's anything left in the kitchen- a small, rarely used corner positioned two rooms away from the 'Nerd Lab', which also acted as a pantry. Professor Callaghan had insisted on such arrangements when he discovered how obsessive the five (though Fred's countability was questionable) of them could be when they were caught up in their research- to the point that they would neglect food until Fred pointed out they hadn't eaten for the day. But a trip to the kitchen would be worth a try- GoGo decides she needs to clear her head anyway.

It's quiet, and the only sound GoGo can hear is the flickering electric boards in the distant, outside the lab. Everyone has left ages ago- even Tadashi, who was usually the one to stay up the latest. Given that it's 1am in the morning, GoGo concedes that if she doesn't make a breakthrough in another hour, she'd be better off packing up for the night (or day, depending how she looked at it). Still, an off day would affect her work negatively. GoGo groans once more as she stalks towards the kitchen. For a while, she wonders if it's better giving up on her project.

She breaks out of her train of thought when she's met with the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies.

GoGo frowns in confusion (even though chocolate chip is her favorite cookie flavor), wondering if Honey Lemon has decided on a midnight baking project. She almost winces. Honey's a competent scientist, but her baking skills were… on a whole new, and separate, level. GoGo understands Honey's passion towards chemistry, but, simply put, experimenting with chemicals in the lab and experimenting with baking ingredients were two separate things. The former sounded more dangerous, but after tasting her 'Iced Honey Lemon cookies (1)' the other day, GoGo's starting to think the latter could be more life-threatening. Oh well, she sighs. At least Fred managed to give Honey a decent nickname (Tadashi was the one to point out that "Iced Honey Lemon" and "Honey Lemon cookies" were too long, and GoGo took the role of breaking it to Fred that both were downright stupid nicknames. The five of them eventually settled on a compromise.)

Which is why her jaw drops when it's not the eccentric blonde standing in the kitchen, but Tadashi Hamada instead.

"Tadashi? What are you doing here?" GoGo demands, startled. Tadashi's head whips around and he turns to survey GoGo in slight surprise.

"Baking?" Tadashi replies uncertainly, pulling out a pan of freshly baked cookies from the oven. GoGo's still in a grouchy mood, and seeing the person most likely to break her stoic facade doesn't help (she tries to tell herself at least it's not Fred, but being mad at Fred and being mad at Tadashi was different somehow; the latter made her more flustered). However, Tadashi is baking, and GoGo's hungry. So she moves over to the kitchen counter, where Tadashi's setting the stack of cookies on the cooling rack, and seats herself on one of the tall chairs propped next to it. She spends the next few seconds staring at the cooling cookies.

GoGo's about to swallow her pride a little (because it was Tadashi who told her she'd regret it if she missed dinner) and ask if she can have one, but Tadashi's already handing her a large chocolate chip cookie.

"I thought you'd be hungry after missing dinner. And grumpy, cos you're out of gum. Hiro's been bugging me about baking him chocolate chip cookies after he saw the ones Honey Lemon gave me last time. So I thought I'd make it here and give some to you too." Tadashi's saying. GoGo blinks and gingerly accepts the cookie. Her right hand stows around her pockets and she realises that he is right- that she's out of gum. (And that she'd be hungry, but that was technically common sense and nothing to do with Tadashi's observance of her well-being). GoGo's surprised; even though she knew her gum supply was dwindling, she hadn't been aware that she'd already ran out. And she's even more surprised that Tadashi's realised.

"Y'know, everyone has their off days sometimes," Tadashi interrupts her thoughts, positioning himself in a seat opposite of her. GoGo sighs, but feels slightly more comforted when she takes a bite out of the warm and soft confection she's still holding. She closes her eyes in bliss for a while. It has always been her favorite- ever since her mother had made it for her when she was young- chewy and sweet. It was always something her stepmother could never seem to carry out with the same success (they ended up either crunchy or rock-hard).

"But it's not everyone who fails to come up with anything productive when everyone else has." GoGo mutters after swallowing, a little depressed. Tadashi snorts.

"You kidding? I'm on my thirtieth test on Baymax today, and the only thing he's succeeded in doing is beat me up, deflate, screech, and otherwise, fail. If he weren't a robot, I'd swear he's doing it on purpose." Tadashi complains.

"But when he succeeds, it'll all be worth it." GoGo looks up when she hears the softness in Tadashi's voice, and she sees the gentle look in his brown eyes.

"He's going to help a lot of people when he functions properly, when I succeed. That's why I'm never giving up." Tadashi resolves, determination resolute in his features, and that's when GoGo has to smile at his words, because Tadashi Hamada always manages to inspire her, somehow, even when he's not meaning to, even when he's merely speaking about his thoughts and beliefs.

"But it's also unhealthy staying up too long, so you should rest early too." The spell is broken, and Tadashi reverts back to his chiding-mother-hen persona. GoGo stifles a laugh and rolls her eyes.

"I get it, Hamada," GoGo teases, knowing it irked her best friend when she used his last name in a sarcastic remark, "I'll call it a day if I can't make a breakthrough in half an hour." She turns to leave just as Tadashi begins packing the cookies into a paper bag. Though, before she steps out, GoGo rests her right hand on the door frame and makes her last remark.

"But even if that's so, I'm not giving up, either."

Tadashi grins.

...

As GoGo packs up for the night (or day, she's starting to get slightly confused), she finds a neatly folded paper bag on her table, with a note taped to it.

"I lied. Hiro doesn't like them, but Honey told me they were your favourite."

Inside the paper bag were chocolate chip cookies.

~

(1) I originally just wanted this to be a super short drabble on Tadashi baking while GoGo happened to be hungry. But when I searched cookie flavours, I found 'Iced Honey Lemon cookies' and I thought it'd be cool for Honey Lemon to get her nickname from there.