i've had this in my drafts for a while - it's been re-edited so many times, i can't even keep track. but yeah, i looked through it again, and decided, finally, that i'm happy with it. somewhat.
don't kill me if you're mad about the final pairing! i literally ship tadashi with most people. so. heh.
hope you like it!
One month later
Robert Callaghan stares through the glass at the familiar boy sitting on the other side. It's a boy that, even one month later, Robert still can't believe is alive – alive, and breathing, and very, solidly there; not the ghost of a memory he still has nightmares over.
"Tadashi," is all Robert can say, his hands clenched in his lap.
Tadashi inclines his head. "Professor."
Tadashi doesn't offer much else, just simply sits there, staring very hard at him through the thick glass. Of course he doesn't have anything to say – it's Robert who's called this meeting, Robert who's put in request after request, sent in letter after letter, until Tadashi's finally agreed to see him.
"Is there a reason you wanted to see me?" Tadashi finally asks, and it's a vaguely familiar question, a question that's slipped out of the half-Asian boy's mouth a hundred times before at the end of lessons, outside of curriculum time. But it's never been said with so much hostility, a hard glare on his face.
"I – "
Somehow, the words can't find its way out of his mouth. Robert knows what he wants to say. He's sorry – he's sorry for the fire, he's sorry for leaving Tadashi there to die (even though he didn't), he's sorry for trying to kill Hiro Hamada and all his friends, he's sorry for being so ready to kill the students he taught, he's sorry for risking the lives of so many, he's sorry for everything, he's sorry for (nearly) being responsible for Tadashi's death.
Because he can remember hearing about Tadashi Hamada's death, he can remember how it nearly broke him as much as he broke over Abigail –
Because it was Krei's fault, it was all Krei's fault, if it weren't for Krei he would never have needed those microbots, he would never have used that fire, he would never have –
Robert clenches his fists.
He can remember the fight at Krei Industries. He can remember seeing the same familiar people he's seen before – GoGo, that wild adrenaline junkie, all dressed in yellow and speeding around at the incredible speeds she's always dreamed of; Wasabi, as they call him, large and muscled and so ridiculously worried about everything and yet doing everything that he could to help his friends and the people in danger; Honey Lemon, usually so sweet and kind and never dreaming of violence, and still going to ridiculous lengths, putting chemistry to use in ways that he's never thought of before, in ways that only that bubbly girl can dream of; and Fred, silly, fanboy, mascot Fred, who's amazed even Robert with his enthusiasm for 'everything science'.
And Hiro. Hiro Hamada, that happy-looking boy who looks as if he's only ever known how to smile, whose brother's supposed death wrecked him to pieces.
He can remember seeing a new figure – three new figures – dropping down with them and the healthcare companion Baymax (and he can remember feeling like he's been ripped into pieces again, because Baymax was – is – Tadashi's, and always has been, Tadashi Hamada's months and months and months of work). Two figures, easily recognisable in those red-and-black suits he's always seen on television – the two elder Incredibles children, the girl who can turn invisible and the boy who can run so fast that he can run over water.
And the last figure, clad in simple clothing that allows him to move around easily, clothes that offer him protection almost as good as armour.
Tadashi Hamada.
He didn't recognise Tadashi immediately, of course. He couldn't have, not in the clothes that he'd worn, not in the black domino mask that he'd been wearing.
Robert hadn't even spared him a second glance before sending more microbots his way – the same that he'd done to everyone else.
And then they'd all broken out of the cages that he'd created.
He'd fought, fought with his microbots, determined to get his revenge –
And then he'd seen him.
Tadashi.
His hands on fire – on fire! – as he took out the chains of microbots, eyes hard, his features just recognisable through the domino mask that he wore. It hadn't been very difficult not to recognise him, not when every inch of Tadashi's face was etched into Callaghan's memory, a reminder of the death and the pain and the guilt and that everything was Krei's fault.
"Professor," Tadashi says, and he's pushing back the chair – "If there's nothing to say – "
"No!"
The word comes out more urgently, more agitated, than Robert expected. It stops Tadashi in his tracks, makes the boy lower himself back onto the chair, looking at his old professor with those wide brown eyes.
They're brown eyes that are dark now, dark with loss and pain and anger and Robert knows that it's his fault.
"I'm sorry," Robert finds himself saying. "I'm – I'm sorry, Tadashi, I truly am. I didn't mean for – for any of this to happen."
"You set a building on fire. A building with people inside."
"I didn't think. I just – everything was right there – it was so simple to just – and Krei, I knew he would find a way to get your brother's microbots, I had to stop him, had to take them before he did – "
"You nearly killed a lot of people, Professor." Tadashi's voice doesn't even hold the slightest hint of warmth in it. "You tried to kill my brother. You tried to kill my friends."
"They were going to stop me – and I – Abigail – I couldn't – "
It's getting difficult to breathe.
Forgive me, he wants to say. Forgive me. If Abigail won't forgive me, at least let me seek forgiveness from one person.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, Professor!" Tadashi nearly explodes. "You would've torn apart families, hurt people, destroyed so much and possibly wreck lives – just for revenge? You didn't even care if anyone died – hell, everyone thought I was dead! I would've been dead if I hadn't been lucky! And all you cared about was your revenge on Krei – didn't you think of all those other people that could've been hurt by your actions? Didn't you think that maybe Abigail wouldn't have wanted that? Did you even think at all?"
"I was blind," Robert finds himself saying, softly, quietly, his eyes squeezed shut now because he can't look at Tadashi he can't. "I was blinded by my own grief and anger. I lost everything when I lost Abigail. I couldn't – I couldn't see anything past that."
There is silence.
"I am so, so sorry, Tadashi."
More silence.
"I'm sorry that you nearly died because of me. Because of my anger. My blind rage. I'm sorry for causing so much hurt and pain to you, to your brother, to your family, to your friends, to everyone."
The look on Tadashi's face is softening, slightly.
"Can you – can you forgive me?"
It's not easy, to get back to the café and slip back into easy, normal chatter. It's especially not easy to see the brand-new couple sitting at a table by the window, with smiles on their faces that seem to light them up completely.
"Was it worth it to finally agree to see him?" Hiro wants to know. Hiro's angry, Tadashi knows – angrier, he thinks, than even he could be. "You look mad."
"He would've kept sending in requests to see me anyway," says Tadashi. "I might as well have just gone."
Hiro hands him a donut.
"It was hard," he admits. "He was my mentor, my guide, my role model ever since I joined the college, you know? And then he just – ripped everything away from me. Left me to die. Tried to kill you. GoGo. Honey Lemon. Wasabi. Fred. The people I love."
There is a moment of silence between them.
"He was just so blinded that he couldn't see anything else," says Tadashi.
"He wanted to apologise," says Hiro.
"Yeah."
"You're not telling me something."
Tadashi scratches the back of his head.
"He wanted my forgiveness."
Hiro stares intently at his gummy bears. "What did you do?"
There is a pause. Tadashi bites into the donut, tries to swallow down some coffee.
"I did what I thought was right," he says, finally.
"Then you did the right thing," Hiro shrugs.
And Tadashi wonders just when his brother became so wise.
There's a burst of laughter, and his head twists to catch sight of Violet holding her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her mirth at something Fred's just said, and there's a slight pang in Tadashi's chest.
It's not that he's upset. Not really. He's happy for them – he's happy for Fred, he's happy for Violet, he's happy for how happy they are together.
He just kind of wishes that it's him, and not one of his best friends, sitting with her.
But then again, maybe not. Fred's one of his best friends. He wouldn't want to mess up that friendship, not for anything. And the way he and Violet look together – they look like they match, like they fit together perfectly, smoothing over each other's rough patches and they just make sense.
Not like him. No, he's just leaned heavily on Violet, ever since he found himself with fire powers he couldn't quite control. And Violet – well, maybe she did like him, maybe she did like him a little more than she liked most people.
It's just that – she and Fred, they make sense together. They're right for each other.
It took Violet a while to get her feelings right, Tadashi knows. It took her a while to get her emotions together, to figure out what she really felt. It was an awkward conversation, when he tried to ask her out, and she had to turn him down. He can still remember the agonising look on her face as she got the words out. It took even longer for Fred to get up the courage to ask her out properly.
But he's glad that she's with someone who makes her smile so much, and he's glad that Fred's found someone.
And he's glad that they're still friends, great friends. It's like nothing's changed between him and Fred, and as for Violet – he could never say that she's his best friend, but he guesses she is kind of like a sister he's never had.
"Hey, you think you could take over my shift for a while?" Hiro wants to know.
Tadashi narrows his eyes: "Where are you going?"
Hiro makes a face. "I'm not going anywhere. But Aunt Cass isn't back yet from wherever she went. And someone needs to clear the tables. I figured you'd rather take orders and stuff than clean up."
Tadashi finds himself smiling. "Yeah, okay, bonehead."
So he finds himself standing behind the counter, bringing out donuts and croissants and bagels and pouring out coffee and hot chocolate.
He can hear Violet and Fred from here, hear them talking, laughing. He can see how easily they lean into each other, he can watch Fred pull at her hair, watch Violet snag his beanie, watch how they look at each other, bickering, bantering.
"Oh, c'mon, Dash totally likes me – "
"Okay, so maybe he likes you a little more than he likes Tony – "
"Good enough for me!"
"But that could be just 'cause you bought him pizza that one time – "
"Ha, I bet you're just jealous I haven't bought you pizza yet – "
"Well, considering you and Dash decided to have a conversation about comic books, I'm actually kind of glad I wasn't there – "
"Aw, you know you're really actually interested – "
It's kind of distracting, to say the least.
It's a while before suddenly Violet is standing at the counter in front of him, and Tadashi has to blink, almost takes a step back – but he stops himself, just in time, and he brings up a smile. "You know, if you wanted a coffee or something, all you had to do was yell."
"Nah, I've got enough coffee and donuts there to last me a lifetime," Violet tells him, and she grins back at him widely; but then her face falls. "I wasn't here to ask you about the coffee, actually. I wanted to know if you were okay."
"If I was – okay?"
"Yeah. After your visit to Callaghan today."
She tugs at her hair, gazes up at him. "I mean, I know he's important to you, and everything, and I just wanted to make sure – "
"He asked for my forgiveness," Tadashi blurts out.
"I – oh."
She stands looking at him, and him back at her, and he can't read her, can't tell what she's thinking.
"Did you?" she finally asks.
He shrugs, tells her exactly what he told Hiro: "I did what I thought was right."
She smiles then, brilliantly. "Then you did the right thing."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Violet beams at him. "You're a good guy, Tadashi. Have faith in your decisions. Okay? The same way you have faith in everything and everyone else."
He can't help but smile back at her, widely.
It's when he's getting another cup of coffee for himself that the girl turns up at the counter, muscular and dark-haired with bright brown eyes and a little girl next to her in a long red dress, with some sort of furry blue creature that looks vaguely like a dog.
Tadashi has to blink a few times, because one, that doesn't really look like a dog, not really, and two, dammit this girl is attractive.
"Hi," the girl says, and he notices that she's wearing a crop top and a smile a mile wide – "Can I get a cup of coffee and, uh, a slice of that chocolate cake?"
"Two cups of coffee," the little girl pipes up, and is immediately overshot by the older girl.
"No," the girl his age says, firmly. "I am not letting him have any coffee."
"But – "
"Nope."
The younger girl makes a face, and the older girl just smiles and rolls her eyes and turns back to Tadashi, who's already grinning as he gets out a slice of cake and a cup of coffee.
"Younger siblings?" he sympathises. "I've got a little brother, too. He convinced me to take his shift behind the counter because he needed to clean up the tables, but – "
He shrugs, gestures to the rest of the café where there is clearly no younger version of himself sweeping up the floor.
"I know, they can be such a pain sometimes," the girl says, grinning back at him, ruffling the younger girl's hair when she lets out an annoyed hmph. "But they're not so bad."
"Definitely," he agrees. "I'm Tadashi, by the way."
The girl smiles. "Interesting name. I'm – "
"Hey, that's so cool! Is that really a blue dog or some kind of hybrid or a really cool alien?"
END.
so, uhh, any comments? haha