Bedtimes proved to be even harder to control, with Leiko refusing to go to sleep and Wasabi staring apprehensively at the spare mattress.
"Are you sure that there are no bed mites there?" he asked for the hundredth time.
"Since the last time I answered – no," Tadashi replied, slightly exasperated.
Hiro was in his arms, eyelids drooping in sleep and his brother was more than ready to put the infant to bed.
After bathing time, Hiro had positively screeched in hunger, demanding to be fed again. Fred had even said that he sounded like a milk banshee, if one had ever met such a mythical being.
"I'm telling you, he sounds exactly like one."
"And I'm telling you I don't believe it because I've never heard one before," Honey retorted, quirking an eyebrow. "Besides, he's a little kid and babies need a lot of milk since it isn't exactly a solid."
Fred gave her a confused look. "You mean they drink gallons of that stuff?"
"Not gallons, per say," Tadashi replied, watching in amusement as GoGo tried pushing Wasabi down to the bed in hopes of freaking him out. He gazed down at his brother who was looking up at the world with drowsy eyes.
His smile stretched from ear to ear and he would have placed a kiss on Hiro's forehead had his friends not been looking at him.
"Need a private moment?" Honey asked, catching on to his mood.
Tadashi shrugged. "Not really, but it would be nice."
Fred grinned and shook his head. "Not really missing him in his normal form."
"At least now I can confirm that he isn't building drones that will take over the world."
"I can never get over how Hiro's so obsess with trying to blow the minds of the whole science community," Honey said, glancing fondly at the little baby.
Tadashi shrugged and said, "showoff, I guess," like it was no big deal.
If Hiro had heard his words, he was pretty sure his brother would give him a mini cold shoulder treatment. But as of now, his brother was babbling happily, content with a full stomach.
Tadashi placed his index finger on his brother's chest and was surprised when Hiro reached out and grabbed it in a tight hold.
"Unbelievable," he said, excitement barely contained. "Guys, he held my finger!"
The older Hamada wiggled his finger and his enthusiasm increased even more when Hiro would not let go.
"Aww," Honey cooed and even Fred couldn't help a small smile.
"That's sweet."
Honey's attention was diverted when she heard a cry, whipping her head up so fast that Tadashi thought she might have given herself whiplash. GoGo was standing over a crying Wasabi, who had his fists balled and pressed against his eyes to stop the sobs. She was glancing at her friend guiltily, and catching sight of them, grew even more progressively guilty.
"I'm sorry," she blurted out, eyes wide. "I pushed him down and he just-"
Honey leaned down to her level while Fred walked up to the crying child.
"Hey there bud," Fred said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "How about you stop crying and tell me what's up."
The small boy's cries halted to a sobbing stop and he looked up with tear filled eyes. "GoGo pushed me down and I fell and... and I accidentally bit my tongue..."
Wasabi stuck out his tongue, and even if Tadashi couldn't see any visible form of damage, Fred seemed to have noticed it and gasped softly.
"Man, what a bite! If that were me I would be howling in pain."
"You mean it's worse than I thought?" he asked, small child-like voice trembling.
Fred shook his head emphatically. "No, but I would never be able to hold in my pain like you do, little man. So, what say I get you some ice cold – er, soda – and we can call it a night?"
Wasabi perked up and he nodded. "Okay."
He let Fred lead him back down to the kitchen by hand and Tadashi was pretty sure that the comic book nerd didn't know what he would be getting himself in.
Sugar would keep Wasabi up all night, if the paranoia of sleeping in an unknown place didn't.
Honey sighed and he turned his attention back to GoGo whose stare was glued to the ground, toe circling the area as if she were upturning imaginary rocks.
"Didn't mean to do it," she mumbled.
"Yes, but you did." Tadashi looked to his friend in shock. He had never heard her express such disappointment before, not even when she had failed in her experiments numerous of times.
"You pushed him down and practically bullied him, Leiko! You should treat people better if you want them to do the same to you," she chastised.
GoGo kept her eyes trained on the ground, glumly avoiding Honey's gaze.
"Sorry," she replied callously.
"Don't say sorry to me," Honey chimed, "Say sorry to Wasabi because you hurt him."
Tadashi was surprised to see tears streaming in GoGo's eyes and he was about to tell Honey to tread carefully when the little girl burst out into tears, arms flailing in what was obviously a temper tantrum.
"I said I was – sob – sorry!" she nearly shrieked.
Her crying seemed to have awoken Hiro and the baby started whimpering.
"GoGo," Tadashi said in a strained tone. "Come on, cut it out."
But she only cried harder, convinced that the whole world was turned against her. "I said I was sorry!"
"Okay, okay," Honey said, fluttering her hands as she tried to calm the toddler down. "Let's just think this through-"
"I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" GoGo asked, rubbing a clenched fist over her eyes to stop the flow of tears. Tadashi wondered how she didn't just rip her own eyelashes off with the ferocity of that rub.
All the noise was making Hiro antsy and he started squirming in his brother's arms. Tadashi struggled to maintain a hold of him, less he drop his own baby brother.
GoGo was crying noisily, hiccuping every once in a moment. Honey just stood there, stunned by the turn of events. She didn't know if she should comfort the girl or just ignore her – she was practically an only child and was not prepared for this.
She tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, patting it awkwardly. GoGo surprised her, launching her tiny body into Honey's arms, sobbing into the other girls shoulder. Honey looked to Tadashi, who was as stunned as her.
He motioned that she should just go with the flow and Honey nodded, patting the back of the crying girl's head.
"There, there. I know you didn't mean it, but you should apologize to Wasabi later, okay?"
Little GoGo sniffed. "Okay, I will."
"Good, thank you for understanding," Honey replied kindly, wrapping her arms around the girl in a warm hug.
Leiko stopped crying, hugging her friend back. Tadashi wished he had a camera or something to record this moment to show GoGo later when she's back to normal.
"Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen GoGo hug someone besides Hiro," Fred commented, coming back up the stairs, holding Wasabi's hand. The young boy had stopped crying, smacking his lips and looking mildly satisfied.
GoGo detached herself from Honey's embrace and walked up to Wasabi, looking at the ground.
"I'm sorry I pushed you down," she said, lips pursed. "And I promise I won't do that again."
Wasabi grinned, holding her hand. "It's okay," he stated, eyes shining innocently, "I forgive you."
The girl looked up, smiling faintly. She grasped his hand and they were soon trying to catch each other, running around the room in an impromptu game of tag.
"Should we record this when they get on each other's nerves again?" Fred asked, wolfish grin appearing with the brilliance of his idea.
Honey gave him a sly smile, taking out her phone and undoubtedly pressing the recording button.
Tadashi couldn't help but smiling at the sight of the two kids, and Hiro seemed to have caught up with the change in the mood and relaxed back in his arms.
Honey glanced back, satisfied with her footage and pocketed her phone back.
"Hey, Tadashi, do you mind watching the kids cause I need to get back home to shower and get some sleeping clothes," she asked, and Fred nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, me too, bro."
Tadashi didn't want to be left with three children all alone, but his friends had been hanging out in their house for the whole day and should probably head back home, if not to just explain to their parents that they would be staying over for the night.
"Sure, I'll get Baymax to help."
Honey nodded, heading towards the stairs. Fred followed her, stopping just to place a hand on his shoulder and solemnly say, "May the Force be with you, young one."
Tadashi rolled his eyes. "Come off it, you're still on diaper duty number one."
Fred's grip slacked and he turned on his heel with a scoff. "You're still helping me, Mama."
They left him alone, with two toddlers and one baby in the brightly lit room. Tadashi sighed, standing up from his seat on Hiro's bed and stretched his legs. His arms were sore from carrying his baby brother but he didn't mind. It's not every day that his brother had been reverted back to a semi-endearing child without the need to cause him a heart attack every time he attempted a dangerous experiment.
"Hey, Baymax?"
He heard the mechanic creaks of moving limbs before Baymax appeared at the top of the stairs.
"You called, Tadashi?"
"Could you help me put the other toddlers to bed?" he asked, gesturing Wasabi and GoGo, who were currently giggling and tugging on each other's hair.
Baymax tilted his head, as if searching in the recesses of his memory banks the ability to take care of children. For a moment, Tadashi had wondered if he had even programmed Baymax with child care-giving tendencies when the robot ambled up to them, scooping first GoGo and then Wasabi in his arms.
"Hello, children. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion and I will put you to bed."
"He talks funny," Wasabi commented.
Baymax blinked, regarding the child with a certain manufactured fondness. "I can sing funny too."
The robot took a deep, mechanical breath before singing an old lullaby in his neutral voice. It was a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him and Hiro when they were both children, and the familiar lyrics brought back a wave of nostalgia.
He recalled dark waves, warm brown eyes and the smell of cherry blossoms whenever she was in the room and his heart clenched slightly in a faint echo of the faded wound dedicated to his parents. Tadashi wondered if Hiro could still remember his mother's lullaby and then proceeded to ponder if he should sing that to his brother sometime later or if it was aleady too late.
GoGo's eyes fluttered and Wasabi's were already drooping.
Baymax rocked them slightly to and fro, his voice relaxing and soothing even to Tadashi.
The children yawned and Baymax placed GoGo first on Tadashi's bed before setting Wasabi on the inflatable mattress positioned in the middle of the room.
GoGo turned over and snuggled in the bed, Wasabi following her lead. Tadashi sincerely hoped that his friends managed to retain their memory of potty training; he didn't think he really needed them wetting the beds on top of trying to fix all this. Plus he wasn't sure how to explain to Aunt Cass why the whole room smelled like urine when she came back.
Tadashi switched off the lights, bars of orange light streaming in from the street lamps the only source of light available in the room.
"Thanks Baymax," he said earnestly and he meant it. He didn't think that he would be able to get his friends to sleep without the robots help.
"It is my pleasure, Tadashi," Baymax replied in a hushed voice, taking into account the sleeping children. Tadashi smiled at him, grateful that at least one of his inventions turned out perfect for taking care of people, something that he hadn't realized he had envisioned for the future until recently.
"Okay, you can deflate now," Tadashi said, "I am satisfied with my care."
Baymax nodded, returning to the red suitcase with soft footsteps, mindful of the creaking in his robotic limbs as he deflated back to his smaller size.
A/N: (whispers into the breeze melodramatically like its Lord of The Rings) I've been away for far too long.
I just wanted to let all of you know that I have taken into consideration each and every one of your suggestions for all the shenanigans that the kids are going to cause. Bless.
Apologies for the late update and I hope you guys enjoy this!