Icarus

After a brush with death, Hiro finds himself in a different world every time he falls asleep. There he encounters his deceased parents and Tadashi. Hiro loves being with them but wakes up in the morning alone on his bed. Every night he looks forward to sleeping so he can meet them again until one day he decides he wants to be with them forever.

"Icarus is flying too close to the sun
And Icarus's life, it has only just begun"

"Hiro, you should rest now so your body and mind can recover overnight." Baymax said as he pulled the covers over Hiro. "I will bring up some water so you can quench your body if you are to awake in the middle of the night."

Hiro gently pushed the covers aside and lifted his body from the bed but was pushed back down by the nurse robot. "Baymax, I'm fine, really!" He pouted and as Baymax put the covers over his body once again.

"You are my patient, Hiro. And it is my job to ensure you stay healthy and safe."

"But I'm fine! I'm not hurt! This is nothing serious!" Hiro exasperated.

"You experienced an anxiety attack. This is very serious." Baymax calmly said as he waddled to the stairs. "I will return with some water so stay put."

Hiro said nothing and groaned. It was just an anxiety attack, kids his age get them all the time! Well, they aren't supposed to but it wasn't irregular nowadays. He sunk into the pillow and blew a strand of hair away from his eye. His eyes wandered to the tatami screen that blocked off view to Tadashi's room.

He sighed as his heart painfully pulsed against his chest.

The words he once told Baymax slowly crept into his mind.

'People keep saying he's not really gone, as long as we remember him. But it still hurts.'

Even months later, the pain still lingered. On some days, it was agonizing and brought him to tears and others it felt like a paper cut, a sharp but fleeting pain.

"Tadashi…" He softly whispered. "If only I was a normal kid, then you would've lived a long prosperous life."

Had Hiro not skipped so many years and end up applying for SFIT, Tadashi wouldn't have perished in the fire and be six feet underground right now. He would be in that room chastising Hiro to go to sleep or to go do some homework or do the dishes or something. He would be anything but gone.

Hiro breathed out through his nose and bit the bottom of his lip. He reached over to turn off the robot lamp, which was the only source of light. Taking one last glance at the tatami screen, Hiro pulled the cover over his shoulders and snuggled into the pillow. "I'm sorry…"

The burden straining his heart seemed to fade as he quickly fell asleep.

Baymax stepped onto the third floor holding a tray with a glass of water, a heating pad, and a lavender scented candle.

"I apologize for my tardiness. Aunt Cass was looking for these items that will placate and soothe you…" Baymax stopped walking and looked down at the sleeping Hamada. "I must've taken too long."

Gently, he placed the glass of water on his night stand, careful not to make any sound that would cause him to stir. He lit the candle and left it next to the water. He turned on the heating pad and strategically placed it over his abdomen before closing the door and shutting down into his charging station.

"…ro…Iro…Hiro!"

Hiro scrunched up his face as he felt someone gently shaking his shoulders. His body stirred as he struggled to lift his heavy lids. "Baymax! I told you I'm fine—." If it was scientifically possible, Hiro felt as if his heart had stopped beating for a second.

"T-Tadashi…?" Hiro said in disbelief. "What...are you doing…You died in the fire though! Four months ago!" He pointed at him and immediately jumped on his feet and stepped back. He looked at the two strangers next to him; a young man of Asian descent who looked strikingly similar to Tadashi and beautiful Caucasian lady with long sepia hair. "W-Who are you?" He frantically looked around him and saw that he wasn't in his room. "Where am I?!" Hiro demanded. His body shook as the three stepped closer to him. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

"Hiro, you knucklehead," the familiar stranger said with a chuckle. "It's us."

Hiro's eyes widened and shook his head. "No! Tadashi died! He's dead!" His hands gripped his head, nearly pulling locks of hair out of their roots. He shut his eyes closed and desperately tried to calm his nerves. "This is all a dream, a nightmare…wake up…WAKE UP!"

His accelerating heart suddenly calmed down as the woman wrapped her slender arms around his neck. Hiro felt the urge to push her off and run for his life but something in the back of his mind was telling him to accept the embrace.

"Oh my sweet boy…" She whispered, a tear streaming down her porcelain cheek. "I've missed you so much…"

Hiro blinked a few times as his eyebrows narrowed.

Sweet boy…? What does she mean? Just who are these people?

He flinched when he felt a strong hand gently ruffle his hair. He looked up and saw the man with a bittersweet smile. "Nice to meet you again, young man. You've grown."

It suddenly clicked in his mind as the gears started to turn. He gently peeled himself from the woman and stared at the three before him. His breathing was unsteady and his stomach churned painfully as he tried to process what was going on.

"Are you…" He started softly.

"Yeah." Tadashi gave him a warm smile as he placed his familiar SFIT hat on his raven hair. "Whatever you're thinking, you're right."

The woman's chocolate eyes began to well with tears. She reached for the young man's hand "Hiro, we're your parents." Weakly, she smiled at the young boy. "Do you remember us?"

Hiro stared at them absolutely flabbergasted. "I…I don't understand. This...You guys!" He pointed to them. "You shouldn't be here." He ran a hand through his hair. There's no way on Earth this should be possible, it went against all laws of science.

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hiro, it's not us who shouldn't be here, it's you."

Hiro stared at his father dumbstruck. "What…do you mean?"

Tadashi stepped in and placed a hand in his pocket. "This is the realm of the dead, Hiro." He looked around him and released a mild chuckle. "It's not that bad of a place to live, really."

"I don't understand how you're here but I believe all of the research in the world wouldn't be able to properly explain why."

The woman gently slapped her husband's arm. "Tomeo! Now is not the time for your science talk," she scolded him. "We need to use this time to spend time with Hiro! We've missed out on so much, like his graduation from high school and acceptance into college!"

"Oh yes!" Tomeo smiled proudly. "I heard you got into SFIT, just like your old man! You must love it there, that is where I met Maemi, your lovely mothe—" He crouched down to Hiro's level and looked at him with concern. "Hiro…"

Hiro's eyes were rimmed red and his cheeks were flushed. He sniffed his nose a few times. His nails achingly dug into his palm as his body quaked.

I won't cry. I won't cry.

"Hiro, it's okay to cry." His mother said using her motherly intuition. "We're right here to dry your tears."

A hot tear streamed down his sweaty cheek as he bit his lip so painfully that he almost drew blood.

He had to grow up without a single memory of his parents and yet here they were, standing before him, ready to shower him with the love he missed out on.

More tears snuck past Hiro and down his cheeks. His hand gently rubbed his swollen eyes as a sob escaped his lips. "I missed you guys so much…" He said in a breathy voice. "I was all alone…I was the only Hamada left…"

Tadashi wrapped his arms around Hiro and pulling him closer, making the baseball cap fall off his head. "Us too. We missed you so much, more than you would ever believe."

Hiro nodded his head and said nothing as his hands tightly gripped the back of his beloved brother's cardigan.

"Hiro…please don't cry, you'll make your mother start bawling. Once she starts there's no end…" Tomeo pleaded, his eyes slowly becoming watery.

"Too late…" Maemi softly giggled, using her finger to wipe away a tear.

"But how…could you leave me all alone like that?" Hiro softly demanded. "I was all alone…when you guys are have each other."

Maemi's heart felt like it was being crushed. "I know sweetie…we didn't mean to. None of us did."

Life was cruel and they all knew it but still prayed for happiness regardless.

She gently lifted up the hair that covered Hiro's forehead and placed a chaste kiss on it. She stared at her full grown son and smiled. "We'll always be there for you. We're not going anywhere, love."

Hiro's eyes shot open and saw his familiar ceiling. The blanket was half on the floor and half on his leg. Hiro stood up from his bed and desperately scrutinized his room, looking for the faces he had quickly come to adore and love once more. His chocolate eyes locked on the tatami screen. There was a painful feeling of his stomach being wrung as it quickly dawned upon him.

He had woken up alone.

Hello! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of Icarus! I wasn't really in the mood to write Crescendo so I decided to write up the idea that I've been conjuring up for the past week. I hope you guys give it a chance because it won't be that long of a story!

I'm going to start my English hw now… Leave a review if you liked it C: Have a lovely day~