Life in San Fransokyo

In Summer

San Fransokyo summers can get terribly hot, and today was no exception. The temperature soared to a simmering 93.2F. Tadashi was in the garage, working on Baymax. Man, what he wouldn't give to work at SFIT's airconditioned lab, but it was currently under renovation because a couple of students' experiments and tests went horribly out of control and blew a hole in the wall (Baymax was, thankfully, not involved in it).

"Ah, if only Elsa were here," he muttered, wiping the sweat off his brow. But she was in Norway to visit her sister. She wanted him to go with her, but he begged off-just because she was filthy rich and the future CEO of one of the best tech companies in the world, doesn't mean that he'll freeload off her. No, he'll save up for it then go with her next time.

But he was beginning to regret his decision, because 1) she flew to Norway on her family's private jet, which meant saving up was a moot point, 2) he could literally be chilling right now instead of sweating in this infernal heat, 3) he could be cuddling with Elsa, and 4) she wouldn't be pissed at him.

He regretted #3 and #4 a lot. He missed her. Stupid, stupid pride. Why had he said such a boneheaded thing? Elsa wasn't one to flaunt her wealth-she was one of the most low-key persons he had ever known besides Fred, whose family's wealth rivaled hers.

It's interesting how those two didn't flaunt their wealth, now that he thought about it.

"Must be nice not to worry about money," he muttered when Elsa told him she'd be using her family's private jet to fly back to Norway.

"Excuse me?" Elsa's eyes narrowed.

"Nothing! Well, you know, it's just..." he trailed off, shrugging.

His family wasn't poor, but they had gone through some hard years. The worst had been when he was in high school-he remembered seeing Aunt Cass hunched on the kitchen table with her calculator, surrounded by paperwork. She had never spoken to him about it, but Tadashi had guessed the cafe was in financial trouble. And he was graduating in two years-what about college?

It was then he realized he had to let go of his dream to become a doctor. When his parents died, his grandparents had offered to take him and Hiro in-the problem was, they were located in Japan, and he didn't want to move. San Fransokyo was HOME. Aunt Cass must have realized that the boys had suffered enough-moving them to a completely unfamiliar place after they had suffered a tragedy was too much, and as such had taken them in.

For that, Tadashi had vowed to make things as easy as possible for his angel of an aunt. It was the least he could do.

And so, he ended up at SFIT as a robotics engineering major. While he had his heart set on becoming a doctor, SFIT was the practical choice. Besides, he was also interested in robotics. Tadashi suspected that had he not idolized his father that much, and had his father not died, he would have been involved in robotics.

Funny how things had turned out.

"Just what, Tadashi?" Elsa demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an imperious eyebrow at him.

"Nothing! I don't want to mooch off you, that's all. I want to pay my own way," he protested lamely.

Elsa's demeanor became eerily calm, which alarmed Tadashi. Not good, he gulped. She's pissed.

"Fine. See you in a couple of weeks, then." With that, she spun and stalked off.

Tadashi felt like a heel. Why had he done that? It's not as if she asked to be born rich, right? And she had never rubbed his face into the fact that she could probably buy him if she wanted to. Elsa was simply being practical and she wanted him with her. Why had he made such a big deal about it?

Sometimes it's hard to think of Elsa as this...billionaire tech heiress and future CEO, so when she casually refers to her family's private jet or absently corrects him about obscure and upcoming tech, he's floored and was reminded that she's way out of his league.

That maybe one day, Elsa will wise up and realize he's just a regular guy with no place in her world.

"Aaaaugh!" Tadashi threw up his hands, unable to stand the guilt and the heat. Elsa still had a week to go in Norway-maybe if he borrowed money from Aunt Cass to chase after Elsa, he could apologize for being such a prideful jerk. Just how much would it cost to fly from San Fransokyo to Norway, anyway? And if things went well, maybe he could appeal to Elsa's practical nature and hitch a ride on her family's private jet on the way back?

Tadashi groaned and and thunked his head against Baymax's metal frame. The robot's vinyl covering had been stripped away so he could tinker and upgrade its actuators and its battery. Hiro had suggested replacing Baymax's lithium ion batteries with supercapacitors.

"Gah, I'm sorry, Elsa," he moaned, still slumped against Baymax. "Damn it, why is it so hot?" he complained, taking his cap off and fanning himself with it, wiping his forehead with the towel he had slung on his shoulder. He vaguely heard footsteps behind him and didn't bother turning around, thinking it was Hiro.

"Hey bro, I followed your advice and changed Baymax's lithium ion batteries to supercapacitors. I-" he cut himself off and started when a pair of slender arms wound around his shoulders and a cool breeze surrounded him. "Wha-?" Tadashi whipped his head around to see a smiling Elsa behind him, the late morning sun casting a halo around her bright head.

"Elsa?" Tadashi gaped, dumbfounded.

"Surprised?"

"Bu-but-you weren't-next week-" he stammered, jumping to his feet. He wrung his cap in his hands, his heart pounding over the surprise at seeing his girlfriend home a week earlier.

Elsa shrugged and sent a sheepish close-mouthed smile at him, rubbing her left arm with her right hand. "Yeah, I was supposed to be home next week, but..." she cleared her throat. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Elsa. So much. And I'm sorry for being such a jerk about the plane thing, it's just..." he swallowed. How the heck was he going to explain it to her without sounding weird or worse, even more of a jerk? Because it seemed like he was jealous of her wealth or something.

No, not jealous. Insecure.

Elsa raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to continue. He decided to plow through and speak from the heart, hoping he wouldn't stick is foot in his mouth even deeper.

"I guess I'm just insecure," he muttered. "I mean, you're gorgeous, intelligent, rich, kind-you're basically way out of my league. The private jet thing reminded me of it, and I reacted badly. I'm sorry," he hung his head, fiddling nervously with his cap.

"You also know that I've got anxiety and depression, with a curse to boot, right?"Elsa pointed out, tilting her head down to peer at him.

"Listen to me-you are NOT cursed," he stated with an emphatic wave of his hand. "What you have-your powers-they make you unique and even more beautiful. I mean, snow-who wouldn't love snow? I love snow, you know." Tadashi knew he was babbling-Elsa's sudden appearance had fried his brain and he couldn't find the right words right now. But he hoped she understood just how much he loved that about her-how much he loved everything about her.

Elsa's eyes softened at his bumbling declaration and a slight smile curved her lips. She stepped closer to him, a mild arctic breeze swirling around her, ruffling their hair. "Is that so?" she asked, looking up at him.

God, those luminous eyes never failed to get his heart kicking wildly in his chest. "Yeah," he replied, jamming the cap back on his head. "So...yeah, sorry about...you know. Being an insecure jerk. Forgive me?" He pulled his lips down into a pout, meeting her amused gaze with a wide-eyed, innocent one.

"Fine, you're forgiven. Although I suspect you said you liked my powers because it can help you cool off today," she replied archly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well...you can't deny it has certain advantages on a day like this. And are you sure you want to be this close to me right now? I smell like an ox," he protested halfheartedly, his arms going around her waist.

"Shut up and kiss me. I've missed you." Elsa yanked the cap off his head and tossed it toward the nearby couch.

"Oh, if you insist." Tadashi grinned and complied, giving his all to kiss her senseless.