Stop - [Big Hero 6] - (Part 2)

"You might want to listen to Baymax," Hiro recommended coyly.

"'M just...-" Leiko was cut off when some of her own spit went down the wrong tube. She coughed on it in an ornery fashion with a scowl on her face. When Hiro extended an arm in her direction, she shot up a palm, halting his gesture. After catching her breath, she groaned with frustration at her own body's lack of coordination. "I'm fine," she stated, staring at Baymax, who seemed quite intent on her a the moment.

"I apologize," Baymax courteously prefaced. "However, all of my analysis concludes that you require rest. If you begin to lose consciousness again, my programming dictates that I administer proper care to prevent you from sustaining harm."

Hiro put in, "So, what he said – but also? I don't have to be a healthcare bot to be able to tell that you're not fine."

Leiko let an endeared smirk spill out as she gazed at Hiro's concern, veiled by an aloof demeanor. Reminded her of a certain someone.

"Doesn't matter either way," Leiko stated, pushing herself up from her stool and onto two feet. "This thing needs to be finished," she sighed, glaring at the mass of yellow and red and black that sat on the workbench before her. With a long yawn, she stretched up one arm and lazily gestured the other toward Wasabi's ornately arranged tool set across the way. "Could you get me the...-?" Another yawn. Damn, this was pointless. She could barely finish a sentence, let alone continue her work.

"GoGo," Hiro said timidly. "You've...been at this all weekend."

"It's gotta get done," Leiko answered simply.

"You should just ask for an extension," Hiro suggested with a shrug.

"Already did," Leiko murmured bitterly. This thing was late. And it looked as though it was going to be extra late. GoGo Tomago was not one to care much for being late. It pissed her off to no end.

GoGo and Hiro exchanged awkward at-odds expressions for a second or so until Hiro's eyes quickly darted away. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets and yawned himself.

"Mmmmaybe I could help you finish it?" he offered. "I was taking a look at it earlier, and I noticed that you might be able to squeeze better m-"

"No," Leiko instantly retorted. Upon catching the way the kid flinched ever-so-slightly at her rebuff, she sighed through her nose and explained. "Thanks, Hiro, but...this is my deal. You help me build it n' the whole thing's pointless. I get that you're this...Kid Genius, but...I'm an engineer. Let me build my own stuff for once. 'Kay?"

Hiro's mouth swiveled at the rejection, but Leiko could tell in his eyes that he understood. She wasn't trying to be a bitch. But she liked to take care of things on her own. Earlier that day, if freaking Fred had let her do her own thing, then there wouldn't have been any kind of 'incident'.

"Gotcha," Hiro mumbled as Leiko's eyelids started to droop again. "I'll make you a deal."

Leiko shook off her drowsiness and intook a sharp breath through her nose.

She began with "I don't think you're in a position to be...-" but another yawn escaped Leiko's flimsy grasp.

Hiro made his offer. "If you take a break – go to sleep – I won't tinker with it."

In her hazy state of mind, Leiko was still aware enough to know that she was likely going to pass out real quick. And she'd been running on empty for long enough where if Whiz Kid did make changes, she wouldn't be able to tell what they were in the morning. And that idea was annoying as hell. She couldn't tolerate the thought of someone else doing her work for her.

"Fine," she cracked, letting the kid's mischievous concern leak in. "But I need a drink first." She snatched up her old-new thermos and made her way for the coffee machine.

"I would not recommend consuming caffeine before bed-rest," Baymax interjected, waddling his way after Leiko.

"Pretty sure caffeine's not gonna do much for me either way," Leiko decided as she reached the coffee pot. Light was still on. As Baymax and Hiro approached her position, she cautiously pressed her palm against the pot. Still warm. She let her hand linger there for a moment, hypnotized by the warmth. She set the thermos on the countertop beside the pot.

Gazing at the worn out stickers clinging to the thermos for dear life, Leiko murmured to herself, "Fuel makes the fire."

"Huh?" Hiro was understandably confused.

Baymax inquired, "Will a caffeinated beverage improve your emotional state?"

"Wh-? Oh. Yea, that's it," Leiko dismissed the robot's programmed concern while simultaneously acknowledging that he'd finally gotten the point. She took up the coffee pot and poured the steaming black liquid into the metal container, filling it halfway up.

"I still cannot recommend consumption of caffeinated beverages under your current condition."

Leiko's bloodshot eyes slowly blinked, her eyelids barely lingering open. Her patience with this conversation had been pretty much gone before it had even begun. She sighed through her nose, rubbing her thumb along the metal thermos she clung in her hand. She dabbed her thumb against the wad of gum she'd stuck to the thermos – still a little damp. Mouth slightly agape, she glared at Baymax, watching his head mechanically twitch from her face to the thermos she clasped, then back to her face. Leiko ignored his robotic observations and took a sip. It was hot, it was dark, and it was bitter. Just the way she liked it.

"When coping with loss," Baymax recanted, "it is typical to attach emotions to specific objects, images, or symbols associated with that which has been lost. These symbols can provide limited comfort to a grieving individual."

"...What?" Leiko nearly choked on her second sip of coffee.

"What's that got to do with coffee?" Hiro asked, giving Leiko a studious stare.

She could feel her face heating up in a moment of sudden vulnerability. Baymax wasn't a mind-reader, so how had he figured out...-?

"Your...stainless steel container has trace amounts of DNA," Baymax pointed out. "My analysis has concluded that this thermal container was previously owned by...Tadashi Hamada."

Sneaky robotic bastard! She had to give him credit – he was built well. He did his job quite stubbornly, and she knew where the bot had picked that trait up from.

"That was my brother's?" Hiro checked, pointing at the object in Leiko's hands.

"Uh, sure," she passively replied. She'd been found out. She scratched at her cheek and fake-yawned, hoping the kid wouldn't notice how flustered she was. "Just...found this up in the supply room, on the floor, and...it jogged my memory a bit. So...-"

"It is all right to cry," Baymax courteously encouraged. "Crying is a natural response to pain." His words were like patronizing pinpricks.

"Whoa, I'm not...-" Leiko gave the bot a harsh glare and an accusatory shrug. "I'm fine." But her face was boiling up. She was de-shelled. Exposed.

Hiro seemed speechless, studying Leiko's grumpy expression and gesture with a pensive look about him, as if observing an animal in a cage. He extended his hand, eyeing the thermos, and after another sip of hesitation, Leiko let him hold it.

"Feeling a little sentimental," Leiko mumbled defensively, shrugging at Hiro, then glaring at Baymax, who closed the distance to her. "That's all."

"Your heart-rate is...elevated," Baymax observed. "Blood is rushing to your cheeks, and your neural activity denotes a state of...embarrassment, and frustration. Personal loss is nothing to be ashamed of."

Hiro smirked with a glow of warmth to him – like he'd been in Leiko's place before and knew what was coming. Leiko sipped at her coffee and took a step back. Baymax took a step forward and continued his job.

"Treatments for personal loss include: interaction with friends and loved ones, physical contact, and reassurance." To Leiko's dismay, the fluffy balloon bot squeezed her into a squishy, cuddly hug. She was too exhausted to bother struggling against the person-like pillow, so she endured the entirely-too-comfortable contact. He tapped his puffy palm against her head, his body glowing red as it heated her. "You will be all right. There-there. I am sorry for your loss."

"Whoa, whoa. Easy. Take it easy."
"I'm screwed, you don't-" Tears were trickling down her cheeks in a steady stream of fear.
"You're gonna be fine," Tadashi reassured.

"They're gonna come looking for me."
"Not here, they won't."
"What the ff...-?" She was shaking her head in a panic. Her hands trembled, hidden away in her pockets. She spit out quick utterances of doubt. "What am I gonna do? What the hell am I gonna...-?"
"Chill. Stay calm. We're gonna figure this all out."
"You haven't seen what I have, Tadashi. What we-...What they do."

"Can't you just go to your parents' place?"
"Are you kidding me? That's the first place they'll look. Besides, my family doesn't exactly approve of what I've been up to, so-...Damnit, what am I...-?"
"Freaking out isn't going to solve anything right now."
"I don't know what else to do but freak," she cited, brushing her wrists over her eyes.
"Leiko." His hands clamped down on her shoulders, steadying her. The first time he'd touched her.
"What?" she snarled back, her voice cracking, eyes twitching as her mind was running circles.

"Stop." Tadashi pulled her into a sudden and tight hug.
"I don't...-" Leiko couldn't figure out what to say, but that gesture of support was exactly what she'd needed in that moment, when everything felt lost.

Silence passed for a couple of seconds as Leiko absorbed his sympathy.
"I've already talked with Callaghan," he tried to ease. "We think there's a scholarship we can get you signed up for – it'll be a lot of work, but you're a go-getter, right?"

Leiko nodded in reply, her eyes wandering away from Tadashi's solemn concern. Tadashi continued.
"You'll be fine. You can take that knowledge you've gotten and put it to a better use. Help people with it, instead of hurting them. Tomorrow we'll figure out housing, but for tonight, just stay here on campus. They're not going to look for you at a place like this, right?"
Leiko shrugged with uncertainty. She had no idea if they would crash a tech school or not, but it certainly wasn't likely, she'd give him that.
"I pull all-nighters here all the time," Tadashi explained, giving her a reassuring pat on the back as she let him lead her to his mini-office of sorts. "C'mon, I've got a place you can sleep things off. Out in the lounge here. We'll figure out the rest tomorrow."

The sound of Hiro's snickering drew Leiko's conscious out of another mini-nap. Oh, sorry, Baymax: micro-sleep. Gah. She was so freaking tired. The fact that Baymax's body was a heater mixed with a pillow wasn't helping her stay awake.

Leiko cleared her throat, groggily nudging herself back onto her feet. As she came back to her senses, she noticed that Hiro was smiling up at her, clasping the bedazzled thermos in his hands.

Hiro clicked open the top and took a whiff of the over-brewed coffee as bits of steam billowed up.

"Still hot," Hiro noted, extending it toward Leiko, who was abashedly avoiding Baymax's inquisitive little camera gaze. What if he was recording all of this? Damnit, he probably was. "Here," Hiro said, drawing Leiko's attention back to the thermos.

"You don't want it?" Leiko posed, conceding the mug to the boy whose brother was gone.

"You should keep it," Hiro insisted, nudging it closer toward her.. She accepted it with a smirk, then yawned. Hiro rubbed at his eyes – also baggy – and grinned his goofy grin at Baymax, stating, "Tadashi already entrusted me with something pretty special."

Baymax's head twisted toward him, but his robotic brain didn't have an answer for that sentiment. Leiko ran her thumb across the weathered stickers on the mug as she stared at Hiro's smile.

"Yea. Well...Me, too," she murmured pensively, taking a sip of her coffee. It was nearly empty. Hiro must've had a little. The two humans in the room got quiet for a few moments, exchanging glances that went from warm to nostalgic to melancholic.

"Your emotional states are reflecting a sense of...pain. If my information concerning Tadashi's DNA has contributed to-"
"It's OK, Baymax," Hiro assured gently. "I think we just need to get some rest."

Leiko silently took another sip, her eyes glazed over as her half-awake brain was struggling to keep her memories in the past.

Baymax was an ironically charming puzzle when he wasn't irksome. Despite not being a human being, he seemed pretty keen on observing those around him. Leave it to serve as an example of what humans ought to do.

"Leiko's condition has not improved," Baymax stated. "I am concerned that bedrest will not be as effective if her mental state is not remedied."

Unhappy with having attention drawn to her 'mental state,' Leiko pointed out, "I thought you were supposed to be a health-bot. Not a psychiatrist."

"I am programmed to assist everyone's healthcare needs, including emotional or psychiatric care."
The words were as mechanical and courteous as always, but Leiko couldn't help but wonder if he was being spiteful somehow.

Leiko rubbed at her bloodshot eyes and took a swig of the coffee. It didn't taste very good, but the aesthetic was what she was after.

"This container was previously used by...Tadashi Hamada," Baymax recanted. "Tadashi was...your friend. Is this why you desired...coffee?"

"Fascinating." Leiko sighed, brushing off his question and heading out of the lab. She was going to make a bee line toward the nearest lounge room. There was a study lounge down the hall with a couch that was comfy enough. It wouldn't be her first time crashing there.

But Baymax was in hot pursuit. Or, well, what constituted as such given his waddling pace.

He advised to her back, "I am programmed to not leave a patient's side until their condition has stabilized, and they say that they are satis-"
Through grit teeth, Leiko growled under her breath, "Oh, I am satisfied with my fucking care..."

"GoGo...?" Hiro mumbled with some shock, picking up the pace.

"You sound...distressed," Baymax noted as the trio of them wandered down the dimly lit hallway. "Sudden use of vulgarity can indicate...anger, impatience, or pain."

"Yea, no sh-"

"What's going on with you?" Hiro demanded, tugging at Leiko's jacket before she could finish her sentence – and before she could retreat into the lounge. "Are you mad at me, or...or Baymax? Or-?"
"Argh, what? No," Leiko swiftly assured. "Nuh-uh, it's not...-"
"Because I really am sorry," Hiro insisted.

"Huh?"

"You got hurt today because it was my idea to get us all...into this...super team thing. And that happened because of Tadashi...which happened because of my invention, and...-"
"Nope, you're not doing that to yourself," Leiko sternly criticized. Clamping her hand down on Hiro's shoulder, she forcefully mumbled, "We've gone through this. That wasn't on you. No way you could've known. And the reason I'm mad right now? Not your fault. At all. So stop it."

Leiko did her best to force earnesty and gratitude through her bloodshot eyes, and Hiro did his best to accept her words with a solemn nod.

"You're...acting a little strange tonight," Hiro mumbled with a shrug.

"Argh, look. Hiro." Leiko swished the last of her coffee around, glancing down at the Whiz Kid. "Sorry. Not in a good place tonight. OK?"

With a raised finger, Baymax cited, "You are...sleep deprived."

Gently rolling her eyes, Leiko said to Hiro, mimicking the robot's intonation, "I'm also...'sleep deprived.' There's a lot going on in my head. Nothing you did. Got it?"

Right on cue, Baymax reached their sides and daintily dropped his two cents right on Leiko's nose. "Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones. Would you like to share your feelings, or shall I contact someone for you to speak with?"

"No," Leiko spit out – a defense mechanism more than a decision. "No, I don't...-" She shook her head with contemplation before deciding, "Not a good idea."

Hiro had some words for that, though.

"But holing yourself up all alone in the lab, working until you pass out...That is a good idea?"

Leiko, however, did not have words to counter with.

Hiro added, "I don't know what's up, but I can tell that whatever's going on, I've been in a place like that before."

"Yea," Leiko affirmed, recalling that quite well. After letting the moment of melancholy hang in the air for a second or two, Leiko tiredly ran her hand through her hair and grunted out, "Well...-" Trailing off, she entered the study lounge.

Hiro lingered by the doorway – which she left open – and exchanged looks with Baymax. Baymax, naturally, didn't really convey much with his blank expression, but Hiro figured the robot's silence meant that the humans were on the right path toward 'stabilization.'

Upon entering the lounge, Hiro found Leiko already laid back across a two cushion couch, using its squishy, leather-clad arm as a makeshift pillow. She had set down the thermos on the coffee table right in front of the couch, and was laying on her side, her arms wrapped around her abdomen as she stared dully into empty space.

Hiro and Baymax approached, but Leiko didn't immediately acknowledge their presence. She hadn't decided if she just wanted to be left alone – as usual – or if she would take Baymax's advice on the whole 'talking about feelings' bit. It would probably be easier to talk about stuff with Hiro than anyone else, though. He was younger, less likely to judge her, and he had felt Tadashi's death a lot harder than she had. Damn, by comparison she probably didn't have a right to be making a fuss, but...she'd just been letting it simmer for weeks. Some silly reminder of the guy and suddenly she was feeling all sappy. There were reasons why, of course, but...it still was frustrating. She wanted to let it all go, move on...

She'd been phasing out of consciousness again when a funny-smelling blanket was draped across her. A drowsy look at its edge made her realize Hiro had picked it up from the room's opposing couch. She glanced up to see Hiro yawning down at her. She rubbed at her eyes, then tucked her legs up, freeing the second cushion. One of the advantages of being small-statured was that it was easy to make space for others to join you. A trait that GoGo Tomago perhaps didn't often take advantage of.

"Sit," she commanded in a groggy syllable, eyes squinted shut.

Hiro shrugged up at Baymax and did as he'd been told, tensing up a bit when Leiko placed her shins on his lap. He sat nervously for a couple seconds, his hands lingering over her legs. Afraid to relax them there, he opted to fold his arms across his chest and lean back against the couch.

"Baymax," Leiko grunted out, still 'resting her eyes.'

"How can I help?" Baymax inquired.

"Refill my drink," Leiko commanded with a yawn.

"I would not recommend-"
"It's fine," Leiko interjected. "It'll help. Just a little would be great."

Hiro watched as Baymax's head twitched down toward the empty thermos, then to the relaxing Leiko.

"Will another caffeinated beverage improve your emotional state?" Baymax posed.

"Oh, yea," Leiko insisted, scratching her nose. "Would help a lot. Definitely...would do that thing you just said."

Leiko opened one eye as Baymax's robotic little hands daintily scooped up the thermos and his body ever-so-slowly waddled its way out of the room. Leiko stretched out her arms and legs, rolling onto her back as she waited for his departure. Hiro seemed to shrink at the casual intimacy, his body tingling and warm despite his lethargy.

"I don't know how you live with him," Leiko quietly mused with a light laugh.

"He, uh...-" Hiro nodded to himself. "He grows on you."

Leiko, eyes now open, glanced over to her Whiz Kid friend, and smirked.

"Yea, I know the feeling," she said. "Anyway, uh...-" Her eyes wandered away from his puzzled gaze.

"What's up?" asked Hiro, glancing toward the open door, and listening to the slowly disappearing sound of Baymax's footsteps. "I'm guessing you aren't actually thirsty."

"Nah," Leiko confirmed. "Just needed a little privacy."

"Ah." Hiro nodded some more, his eyes glued to her pensive, half-awake, ceiling-bound stare. He waited for more, figuring she'd say whatever it was she needed to when it came to her.

Leiko sniffed in a deep breath, exhaled a tired sigh, and scratched at her eyelashes, considering what it was she had to put into words.

"Am I doing a good job?" Leiko asked aloud, still gazing at the ceiling tiles.

"At...what?" Hiro inquired.

"At...-" Leiko chewed at some dead skin on her lip as she contemplated. "I dunno. Looking out for you? I guess? Like, being here? And stuff. For you."

She tried to read Hiro's expression to see if she was making sense, but near as she could surmise, she wasn't. Damnit, she'd just made things awkward. Abort.

"Nevermind," she mumbled, her eyes again escaping his. "I didn't...-"
"No, I get it," Hiro eased. "You're doing a good job. Yea."

Leiko gave him a skeptical look, still doubting that he really 'got' it.

"You've got Baymax to watch your back, but...I guess I...-" She sighed, sliding her eyes closed.

"You feel like you owe it to my brother," Hiro deduced. "To keep an eye on me."

"...Something like that," Leiko muttered, scratching her stomach and tucking the musty afghan blanket beneath her hips.

Leiko opened her eyelids back up. It was getting harder each time.

"You don't have to look at it that way," said Hiro, body tense as he avoided contact with Leiko's fidgeting. "I've got Baymax, Aunt Cass...And all of you guys are there."

"Yea," Leiko agreed knowingly. "But your brother-...Tadashi did a lot for me. He helped pull me outta some nasty stuff."

"Oh. I...-" Hiro paused, scratching his fingers through that mop he passed for a hairdo. "I didn't know that."

"Yea, well." A grouchy yawn from Leiko. "There's a lot about me you don't know. Probably better that way."

Leiko was unsure if that had been a wise thing to say. Hiro didn't have a reply – and why would he? What did you say to something like that? Ugh. Why was she acting so stupid tonight?

"It sucks," she blurted out bitterly, glaring through the ceiling. "Tadashi's dead. For no good reason."

After a lamentable pause, Hiro nodded simply.

"You learn to move on," Leiko rambled tiredly. "But every once in a while? Just slaps you in the face. You remember. Then you realize that you've learned to forget, because remembering...just...-"
"Hurts."
"Yea. And then you get pissed off, because you forgot. Right? Damned if you do, damned if you don't. But-...Anyway."

Hiro looked a little pale in the face, his arms all crossed and such.

Leiko checked, "Dude, am I freaking you out, or...-?"

"Huh? No, it's...fine. I'm not really used to you, um...-"

"Expression emotions beside sarcasm?"

"Heh."

"Sorry. Uh...just relax, or...something."

She stared him down until he did as he was told, letting his arms relax and cross over her shins, fingers locking together as he twiddled with his thumbs. She could tell he was starting to nod off, too.

"I didn't cry," Leiko confessed, vaguely at first. "When he died. I mean, I attended the services. You saw me. I didn't know what to tell your Aunt. What to tell you. What to say. I let the others handle that. I don't even-...I don't think Cass even knows how much Tadashi did for me. But...even now, I just-...No tears. I wanted to. Sometimes I still do, but...I just couldn't. Can't." Leiko's cheeks were starting to burn up, her eyes dampened as the memories and regrets came swelling back to the surface. But the tears weren't going to come. "It's not how I operate," she explained, clearing her throat. "I keep going. I don't stop. But then, today, I...-"

"You're tired," Hiro deduced.

"Yea. Of a lot of things. That thermos, it just...made my brain jump back. It made me stop. Look back at things I haven't let myself think about for a long time. Think about the big picture. I guess."

"Well...I've been there. I'm glad you're letting yourself...do that."

"Yea. I dunno. At first I felt obligated to...look out for you. But you helped pull our group together. Tighter than we were before. In the beginning I was...actually kinda pissed."

"Huh? About what?"

"About how you were just...trying to take charge. Getting us to 'upgrade' and stuff? Pulling us on this war path where you were the one charge? Acting like you were going to lead us to on your revenge quest. Part of me hated that – the idea of this kid trying to fill Tadashi's shoes, tell me what to do."

"Oh. I wasn't really...trying to do that. I wasn't trying to fill...-"
"Nah, I know. I was just thinking selfish crap. But when we found you in that garage...And you were crying. I guess it just...really hit me."

"What did?"

"That you were dealing with the same stuff I was. But worse. That you're...still a kid. And that with Tadashi gone, you needed someone to help pick up that slack."

"Hm. I'm glad I have you guys. I'm glad I have you."

"So I'm doing OK by you?"

"Well...You have your moments."

"Pff. Yea." She smiled, letting her eyelids slide closed. "Damned right I do."

"Seriously?" After all Tadashi's big talk, Leiko was...not impressed.
"Seriously." But Tadashi was adamant that he had some kind of breakthrough here.
"But he's so...-" Leiko's face scrunched up at the sight, words eluding her.
"Cute?" Tadashi finished her thought.
"...Yea." Leiko grimaced at the puffy white monstrosity before her. "That's...one word for it."
"You underestimate the power of cute," Tadashi wryly said with a smirk.

Tadashi ejected a neon green diskette from his computer and set it with care on his desk.

Leiko approached him from behind, gazing at the diskette as Tadashi went sifting through the desk's drawers. There was a strip of weathered masking tape across the diskette's top, with the name 'Tadashi Hamada' written in marker.

"Ah, here we go," Tadashi pulled out his packet of half-used sticker sheets, and Leiko raised her brow.

"You're...not seriously gonna cover your robot in that stuff, are you?"
"Stickers wouldn't adhere to Baymax's skin, so no."
"Darn," Leiko dryly muttered.
"But-!" Tadashi waggled up his index finger, arriving at the particular item he'd been searching for. "I've got just the thing to mark this occasion."

"What occasion?"

"I'm finished with the coding. Ten thousand medical procedures."

"For your nurse bot."

"For my nurse bot," Tadashi repeated, letting Leiko's demeaning tone roll right off him. She liked that.

"So he's...done?" Leiko shrugged. Nothing was ever 'done' with Tadashi.

"Well..." Tadashi shrugged. Of course. "He's ready for the next step. We're at version One-Point-Oh. It's time to start building a few of these big guys, run test protocols, and have them sent to hospitals – seeing how well they perform in a controlled environment. Then I can look into refining the code, scrubbing away the bugs, and...-"
Tadashi noticed that Leiko had her arms crossed, leaning against the inactive robot. Fidgeting her position a bit, she cited, "Squishy. A body-sized pillow nurse bot."
"Don't call him that," Tadashi mumbled, administering an amused facepalm.

"Next thing ya know," Leiko predicted, "people will be asking for bots that 'satisfy' their care in other ways..." She gave him a facetious and mischievous smile and he seemed to shrink into his hat.

"Someone's been spending too much time around Fred."

"Probably," Leiko replied. "But not by choice. Which is your fault for exposing him to me, so...just look at this as karma." She grinned a rare, toothy smile of sadistic pleasure.

At that, Tadashi shook his head in gentle bemused motions as he peeled a green and white sticker from its sheet, attaching it with care right in the middle of his diskette. It depicted a smiley-face with a stethoscope.

"Tsh." Leiko laid on more sarcasm. "Just needed a little touch of 'cute,' huh?"

"Sure. But you know how that is."

"Do I?"

"You know. With the, uh...purple...you've got going on." Tadashi wisped his fingers toward his forehead, implying the recent highlights Leiko had incorporated into her bangs.

"What about it?" she asked, intent on hearing out his opinion – but doing her best to shield this intent with skepticism.

"I was expecting...well, red, to be honest," Tadashi confess. "Thought I had you pegged as more of a red-and-black sort of woman."

Leiko smiled at his theoretical and pushed herself off of the robot, allowing Tadashi the space to approach his creation.

Leiko explained her color choice. "Figured I didn't wanna 'underestimate the power of cute,' I guess."

Tadashi smiled with approval at her snark as he popped his green diskette back into his blobby bot beast.

The robot perked right up, its camera eyes scanning Leiko's body to re-identify her.

"Leiko."

"Mmph?" Leiko was stirred from the beginnings of sweet rest when Baymax announced her name. She went to rise from her ever-so-brief slumber, only to realize that her shins were weighted by Hiro's bony little arms. The kid was sleeping against the couch's opposing arm. Even Baymax's words didn't seem to startle him from sleep. Leiko allowed herself a smile at the young Hamada brother, and she cautiously rearranged the afghan she'd been enveloped in, sharing some of it with the boy.

Baymax set down the thermos of stickers onto the coffee table, right in Leiko's eyeshot.

"Your emotional state has improved," Baymax remarked. His words felt like thunder in the quiet of the night, and Leiko tensed at each syllable he spoke. "I can de-"
"Yea, I know," Leiko burst out, raising a palm to indicate that the robot quiet himself. Itself.

Leiko stared up into blank, empty, mechanical eyes, which make small clicking sounds as they readjusted their lenses – a subtle sound she loved, only audible in the stillness of the night. She gazed over to the dozing Hiro, his mouth agape, drool trickling onto the leathery couch's surface. With Baymax hovering inquisitively over her, Leiko reached out her arm, clutching the thermos cautiously at her sideways angle. She cracked open its top, took a sniff of the staling coffee's vapors, drank in a tiny sip, and closed it. She removed the gum she'd stuck to its side, and gave it a good couple chews. She reached out and pressed the wad of pink into Baymax's leg. For good luck. The robot was, naturally, curious as to this development.

Leiko inhaled a deep yawn, closing her eyes as she exhaled a peaceful sigh.

She stated, drifting off into sleep, "I am satisfied with my care."