Cross Your Heart (Tadashi x Reader)

Chapter Fifteen: The Funeral

"We're so sorry for your loss."

"He was a wonderful young man. You were very lucky to have him."

"Do you know how many girls dreamed of dating him? And he chose you. We were always so jealous in high school."

"He's resting now. You'll see him again."

Before you came to the funeral, you were dreading the moment that the preacher was to speak. And now, as all of these people gather around you to wish you happiness and comfort, you wish he would go ahead and start.

It was a closed casket. Obviously. There wasn't anything to bury. There wasn't even a casket; just a table with pictures and a gravestone that Aunt Cass bought to put in the graveyard. The visitation was for both Tadashi and Professor Callaghan. The funerals were separate.

The gravestone has yet to be placed. Instead, the patch of grass is marked with photos and cherry blossoms. A picture of Tadashi rests in the middle of the flowers. Around the picture, a few other photos. Tadashi holding a baby Hiro. Hiro and Tadashi building robots when they were kids. Aunt Cass and Tadashi, her arms wrapped around him. Tadashi and his parents. Tadashi's first grade picture. You contribute to the gallery with a photo of you and him at his graduation. You slowly run your fingers down the photo, catching the memory on your fingertips. His lips were pressed against your cheek, his arms around you. You smile sadly and let a tear fall.

"Hey," a voice says from beside you. You turn and see Honey Lemon. She's wearing a knee length black dress. Her hair is pulled up into a bun. It's weird to see her without bright colors and a huge smile.

"Hi," you breathe.

"How have you been?" she asks. You look down and blink against the tears. It's no use. They spill over. Honey Lemon grabs you and pulls you against her. Your umbrella falls to the grass. You pull away and wipe your eyes, careful to not ruin the makeup that you didn't put much effort in.

"I'm hurting," you reply.

She nods in understatement. "If you need anything, please let me know. And remember that we're hurting, too. Not as bad as you are, I'm sure, but we understand. We're here."

You nod. Right on cue, the preacher begins to speak. And as if the clouds are crying for your heartache, it begins to rain. You bend down and pick up your umbrella. You hold it over you and take your place beside Aunt Cass. She holds a tissue to her mouth the entire time. You close your eyes.

"What should we build?" You asked. "You know, to get into SFIT."

Tadashi sighed. "I don't know. But I'm running out of time to figure it out."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Tadashi paused for a moment. He looked over at you and said seriously, "I want to help people."

"Okay. And we've already promised a robot." You smiled. "A nurse bot!"

Tadashi gasped. "Yeah! Brilliant!" He jumped up and kissed you before he grabbed his notebook and flipped to a blank page. "It will be able to do it all. Give shots, prescribe medicine, diagnose illness. . ." He drew out a quick sketch of the bot and sat back. He looked at you and took your hand. "We're gonna help a lot of people."

"Together," you said.

"Together," he answered. "Right until the end."

Was this it, then? The end? Were you never to have a spark like that again in your life? Tadashi was your everything. You've spent all of your life planning out your future with him. And now that he's gone, you're left with nothing. No more dreams.

What does Hiro feel like right now? Empty, probably. He shouldn't feel that way. He has so much ahead of him. An entire future.

"I want to help people."

So did you. That has to be true still. Somewhere inside of you, the hope and dream of helping people is buried. You're trying to find it, but as the rain pounds against the material of your umbrella and the preacher drones on about Tadashi's selflessness, you come empty. What's the point of trying when the one person that you loved is gone?