[just for fun]

[mr_gaeta]

This is one of those days where everything seems to go wrong.

First, Gaeta tripped getting out of bed and slammed his bad knee into the floor. Then he burned breakfast. Then he burned lunch. Down in the Milliways kitchen, half his equipment had gotten swallowed by a miniature vortex overnight (as evidenced by the sorry I opened a tiny vortex last night! note somebody left on the counter), and really, by the end of it, all he wanted to do was get room service and watch trashy movies until Louis got home.

Which, of course, means that as he's easing his way out from behind the bar, he knocks his already-tender knee against a barstool.

"Ow, frak -- !"

Comments

[aspenmuses]

"Hiro likes it when I remain active around him and listen to his ramblings. Sometimes I pat his head, like this."

Baymax reaches out and carefully pats Gaeta twice on the top of the head. "There, there."

A beat.

"Mochi also likes being patted."

[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta does not squirm out from under Baymax's hand, but it's a near thing.

"Who are they?" he asks, rubbing his hair.

[aspenmuses]

"Hiro Hamada is the younger brother of my creator, Tadashi, and in my charge. Mochi is the hairy baby - the cat," Baymax explains.

[mr_gaeta]

The what -- oh, says Gaeta's face.

"I think I'm okay for companionship and, uh, patting," he says. Gaeta flexes his knee, testing out the range of motion; it's much improved now that the analgesic's working. "The day's almost over anyway."

[aspenmuses]

"Are you satisfied with your care?"

[mr_gaeta]

"Yeah." He nods. "I'm satisfied with my care. Thank you."

[aspenmuses]

"You are very welcome. I am happy to have been able to be of assistance as your personal healthcare companion. If you need me again, just call."

Baymax blinks cheerfully at him, transforming his entire face into a smile for a moment, then waddles back to the red case at the end of the bar.

He steps into it and begins to hiss as he deflates, compressing himself back into a small cube.

The case snaps shut around him.

[mr_gaeta]

"Hi, sweetie, how was your day?" Gaeta mutters under his breath as he hefts himself off the barstool. "Good? Good. I got hugged by a giant frakking inflatable robot..."

He makes his way toward the stairs.

(...and yeah, he has to admit: he is feeling a little better.)

[faithful_lt]

Some time later...

"So where is this inflatable robot?"

There's more than a hint of incredulous laughter in Hoshi's tone, but Felix's story is just that unbelievable.

(Not that Felix would lie to him about something like this, but come on.)

[mr_gaeta]

"It went back into the case over there," says Gaeta, pointing toward the red box at the end of the bar. "Just sort of..."

He mimes the way Baymax collapsed in on himself.

"Deflated and squeezed right in."

Trust him, Louis: if Gaeta hadn't experienced this firsthand, he wouldn't believe it, either.

[faithful_lt]

Hoshi heads for the box.

"How'd you meet him in the first place?"

[mr_gaeta]

"He came out when I slammed my knee into a barstool." Gaeta rubs the back of his neck, a touch sheepish. "Guess the 'ow' and the swearing were pretty loud."

[aspenmuses]

Oh, look -- the red case is opening again.





Air hisses, inflating Baymax, who blinks at them.

"Hello. I am Baymax, a personal healthcare companion. I heard an indicator of distress?"

[mr_gaeta]

"Oh, uh -- "

Yeah, the embarrassment's increased another notch. Oops.

"Sorry, Baymax. No distress. I, ah, didn't mean to wake you up."

[aspenmuses]

"It is no bother," Baymax assures him. "One moment while I scan - scan complete. Your temperature is slightly elevated and your complexion is flushed, but it does not appear to me that you have a fever."

[faithful_lt]

Hoshi can't help it - he laughs aloud, half enchanted.

[mr_gaeta]

"No, I'm..."

He half-covers his face with one hand, starting to grin in spite of himself. Louis' joy, as always, is contagious.

"I'm fine. Thank you. But Louis wanted to meet you."

[aspenmuses]

"Hello, Louis. I am Baymax," he says, turning to face the other man. "Do you have need of a personal healthcare companion?"

[faithful_lt]

"Not that I know of," Hoshi says, amused and delighted at once. "I should thank you, though -- "

[aspenmuses]

"No thanks are necessary; I am happy to help. Scanning ... scan complete. I detect that you have early stage increased immune response and inflamed bronchioles, indicative of coronavirus infection, also known as the common cold."

[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta's eyebrows go up.

He turns toward Louis, fixing him with a Look.

[faithful_lt]

"-- wait, I what? No, I just have a little cough-- "

He breaks off there, giving Felix a guilty look and a sheepish smile.

[mr_gaeta]

"Honey."

The Look doesn't abate, though there's a hint of a smile now.

"Do I need to fix you extra soup to take home?"

[aspenmuses]

"I agree. Honey is an excellent treatment," Baymax says. "It is very soothing to the throat, particularly in tea and with lemon. Soup is also a recommended home remedy."

A beat.

"Unfortunately, there is no cure for the common cold, but I can assist with alleviating symptoms -- "

[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta stifles a surprised choking noise at Baymax's first assertion, then gives up, covers his face in full, and starts laughing.