4San Fransokyo was actually a pretty cool place to live, there was no getting around that. The city had pretty much everything. A surplus of different cultures, rich, albeit partly tragic, history, countless events and sources of entertainment, beautiful landscapes and buildings of so many different kinds of architecture that it should all look horribly mismatched and yet came together so seamlessly that it looked amazing. Who knew a modern, American designed arcade could look so at home next to a Japanese styled Tea House?
The people were just as amazing. The city thrived with diversity. Every nationality, culture, you name it, it had representation throughout the city. A lot of them even had their own streets! You could peruse China Town, move on to Korea Street and then catch a train to an eternal Oktoberfest themed street that took over the huge park when it was time for the festival. The city was forever keen to celebrate every notable event the world over. There was always something to get excited about, the only question was what was next and how much of the city would end up involved and decorated for it.
At the moment, the answer to that question was obvious a mile away. Almost the entire city was decorated with rainbow flags and people in bright colours and glitter proudly walking the streets.
Even Big Hero 6 had been getting involved. Oh yeah, this town even came with its own team of superheroes! How does a place get more awesome than that?
As much as he complained beforehand about leaving his home, one of the city's newest residents loved his new home. As much as he loved his old, small hometown and missed all of his friends, the fourteen year old Jamie Bennett couldn't even compare it to this thriving city. His fascination with the mystical and folklore, which he had confirmed was true when he befriended Jack Frost of all people, had prevented him from realising just how sheltered his home really was. It was fine of course, it was and had always been home, but it didn't hold a candle to all the different people, cultures and stories San Fransokyo provided. I mean, forget his books, this place had entire clubs based on myths, one for each set. Jamie had already joined the Norse, Greek and general mythical creatures clubs. And, of course, he'd signed up for every fan site on Big Hero 6. There were rumours of a Big Hero 6 convention coming soon too. That'd be awesome.
But as unbelievably mind blowing as all that was, it was a city covered in rainbows that was drawing the bright smile from the boy right now.
"This is just...what words do you use?" He muttered to himself as he headed down the street, admiring the bright colours. "The parade's not even for another week and there's already been, like ten different types of large scale parties that I know of! You barely heard about the parades back home."
His smile grew warmer as he stared at his wrist, eyeing the rainbow glitter he'd wrapped around it. He never would have had the confidence to that back in Burgess. That town, while not hostile, didn't seem too thrilled with the concept of LGBT people. He did work up the guts to come out to his closest friends and family though, and none of them could have cared less. It was just something new to jibe him about to most of them. He was brought to tears when he blurted it out only for his friends to drag him off for rainbow ice cream, but he still didn't feel comfortable expressing that part of himself around town. Here however, was turning into a completely different story.
Although...did he really want to show it off right now?
As happy as he was before, Jamie couldn't help but stare at the glitter with a little trepidation as he approached the cafe on the corner. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal, after all, the Lucky Cat Cafe had proudly hung a large rainbow flag right over the front of the store and the owner was a very open, friendly person. Even if he admitted what he was here, he'd probably just get a 'good for you' and a grin in response. Maybe a hug too. He'd become a regular here and Cass was an affectionate person.
However, this was also the place where she lived with her nephew, Hiro Hamada. Who...Jamie might have developed a little, tiny, massive crush on the very first day he saw the boy. Which only grew more awkward and embarrassing for the poor boy because it was his first crush and he didn't have the first clue how to handle it. How could he not fall for the guy, Hiro was kind and adorably cute, both in appearance and in his own social awkwardness. When Cass sat the Asian down with him and introduced them in the cafe, Jamie spent the whole time with pink cheeks and sputtered everything he said. Fortunately, Hiro just took him for a shy guy, much to Jamie's relief.
That's what made Jamie become a regular at the cafe, hoping to see Hiro again, though he hoped the owners hadn't caught on to that. It was the only way he could see the guy, since there was no way they were going to school together. He was already taking classes at SFIT of all places! The guy was as much of a robotics geek as Jamie was a mythology one, something Jamie thought was amazing. When they weren't debating the existence of Big Foot and the Sandman anyway. The guy used science to try and disprove his claims. It was annoying. But still, the guy was so smart, sassy and friendly, once you got past his lack of experience talking to people his own age. Jamie fell a little more for him every time he saw Hiro and his awesome health robot, Baymax.
But he still didn't even know how Hiro felt about gays and he hadn't been keen to risk bringing it up. Not without a genuinely ideal situation anyway.
Like maybe a Pride Parade prepping to pass right by his front door.
"Come on Jamie, man up." He grunted to himself, slapping his cheeks as he came to a stop one store over from his target. "This is like, the perfect situation to scope out his opinion and it's not like a rainbow wrist is a coming out declaration right now either! The only thing it says is that I'm supportive. That's good. You're fine."
He stayed for a few minutes longer, taking a few deep, calming breaths as he checked his reflection in the window. This wasn't a big deal, but there was nothing wrong with making sure you look good, right? It's not like anyone had to know that he spent over an hour making sure his hair was styled just right and going through half his wardrobe making sure his outfit gave him just the right ratio of looking good and appealing, but casual. You know, besides Sophie, who'd walked on him repeatedly...who was he kidding? All of his friends would know and would be revving up to roast him by dinner. Damn that bunch, training his sister to spy on him for their twisted pleasure!
Well, at least he could hide behind the fact that this was still just a stop on his way home. There was nothing wrong with wanting to look nice at a fair. For people like him. Not just for Hiro. Right? Yeah, they'd never buy it.
"All well. Let's just make something come of this." Taking one last deep breath as he smoothed back a few windswept strands by his ear, he forced his body to relax and strolled as casually as he could to and through the door.
"Ah, hello Jamie. You seem to be right on time." Cass called, looking up from her latest customer as the door bell jingled, giving him a cheeky smile as she nodded her head toward the clock.
"Hi Miss Cass. I wasn't aware I had a scheduled time." Jamie smiled sheepishly, only growing more embarrassed as his blush started painting his cheeks again. "Am I really that predictable?"
"Yep. About three thirty on Tuesdays, Thursdays, sometimes Wednesdays, eleven in the morning on Saturdays and usually around four on Sundays. It's like clockwork. And it's just Cass, you know that." Cass winked, her amusement only further embarrassing the poor boy. "One chocolate shake and banana bread coming right up."
"Great, you even predict my orders." Jamie muttered, a strained grin crossing his face as he took a seat at the nearest table. He really was here too often. "Thanks m...Cass."
"No problem, honey." Cass smiled again, heading back toward the counter. Jamie smiled after her for a moment longer before dropping his head into his hands with a sigh, trying in vain to hide the blush that was definitely growing toward his ears. He hadn't realised that he had a routine! He just tended to head in after a club, or school. The place was on the way home after all. And had great food. And you know, it just so happened that those time periods were the best times to try and catch Hiro as he came home.
Ok, he has got to get better at being subtle.
"Here you are. It's even sweetened to teeth rotting, extra flavoured perfection for you." Cass smiled, setting a cup and plate down before him. Forcing himself to drop his hands, he gave her the most thankful smile he could managed as he grabbed his wallet. "Hmm, exact change, huh?" Cass grinned knowingly, not even bothering to count the cash in her hand, only making Jamie want to bury his head in the ground all over again. Cass just giggled for a moment, before finally deciding to take pity on the flustered young man and headed back toward the register.
Besides, the exchange had given her a new topic to play with. "That's a nice rainbow you've got there, Jamie." She called, pointing at the boy's wrist. "Very sparkly. I take it you got it from the fair down town?"
"Actually...I did it at home before going." Jamie admitted hesitantly, flickering his eyes over the area, only relaxing when he was sure the other customers weren't judging him. Old expectations were hard to break and even this city had its share of prejudice pigs.
"Oh, really? Impressive. You have a steady hand." Cass grinned, much more warmly than her previous, impish ones from before. "So how was the fair? A few customers have said it was amazing! I actually wanted to go, but I misread the date on it."
"It was...the second best day of my life." Jamie answered, feeling all the tension leaving him as he smiled back. It really was, the only day of his life that toppled it was when he was a kid playing with all five of the Guardians and watching Jack being made an official member. It wasn't a night filled with giant, lifelike, gold sand dinosaurs, flying dolphins and everything else you could think of lighting up an entire town filled with toys, yetis, fairies, snowball fights and the Easter Bunny, but it was a close second and just as flashy. "That sort of thing never happens back home, so it was really..."
"Joyful? Reassuring? Amazing?" Cass offered as he failed to find the word, quickly getting a shy nod in response.
"All of the above."
"So then...I take it that you are actually a member of the LGBT community? Not just an ally?" Cass asked, albeit a little more carefully than before.
"Um...yeah. I'm gay." Jamie admitted, using his shake to hide his face as he took a long gulp. He couldn't believe that he just admitted that! To Cass, the aunt and guardian of his crush, the woman who had noticed his persistent visits, of all people! Not that there was much use in lying, he'd given too much away already, but seriously? So much for subtly, he was one step away from admitting that he liked Hiro! What happened to leaving things to people's assumptions?
Cass looked like she was going to respond to that, but it was at that moment that another customer entered the store, making a beeline for the counter and forcing her to merely spare him another warm smile, a proud one too, if he wasn't misreading it. Honestly, that was fine with Jamie. His heart rate was going crazy and he could feel the intensifying heat in his face running down his neck and ears. He needed a breather from this, to collect himself. He'd told so few people and never in nearly that casual and public a setting before. He'd left everyone at the fair to their own suspicions, but that was as close as he'd ever gotten to admitting it publically. He felt...he wasn't really...
"Your red, heated skin, deep breathing and rapid heart palpitations suggest...embarrassment and distress." And now Jamie's heart had decided to freeze. He knew that soft, robotic voice anywhere and it was standing right next to him. And if there was any doubt, it was shattered the moment white, soft, inflated arms wrapped around him. "Hugs and reassurance are the best course of action. There, there."
"Baymax!" Jamie cried, whipping his head to the robot hugging him. "H-hi. How long have you been here?"
"About a minute, maybe?" Another voice answered for him, making Jamie's heart skip a beat. It took everything he had not to freak out as he turned to find Hiro staring down at him in concern. "Hey Jamie. Are you ok?"
"Yeah! I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Jamie replied, much too loudly to be believed, adamantly ignoring the curious and odd looks he'd drawn his way.
"Your symptoms suggests-"
"That I overdid it on a hot day." Jamie exclaimed, extricating himself from the robot. "I'm fine, really. How about you, how was your day?"
"Pretty chilled." Hiro replied, a confused smile crossing his face. "Video games and procrastinate is basically all I've done."
"Really? It's a beautiful day and you spent the whole thing in your room?" Jamie asked, fighting the urge roll his eyes. He could never understand that, he needed to be active. Catching Cass sighing in the corner of his eye, he was pretty sure she was a little exasperated by it too.
"And what would you suggest I do instead?" Hiro raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he stared down at the brunette challengingly.
"I don't know, there's a lot you could do in this city." Jamie responded, staring right back. That is, until an idea came to mind. "I went to the Pride Fair on today, it was fun. You could have gone there." He was biting his tongue before he'd even finished talking with that one, desperately hoping the medic bot didn't bring up his sudden increase in nerves. It was a bit risky, but it was also a good way to test the waters. After all, confirmation that Hiro wasn't homophobic was a good start.
"That was today?" Hiro gaped, his wide eyes turning to his aunt for confirmation, only to groan as she responded with a shrug and disappointed look of her own.
"How did both you and Cass get the date wrong?" Jamie asked, hiding his sudden bout of happiness behind a raised eyebrow. "You're both hopeless!"
"I never saw the date! Aunt Cass was going to have the day off, so I figured I'd know when the cafe was closed." Hiro cried defensively, throwing his hands in the air.
"That's just poor planning." Jamie retorted, a teasing grin slowly growing on his face. "Although," He added, feeling a little nervous again as the thought crossed his mind. "It shouldn't be over for another couple of hours. You could catch the end."
"Yeah, that could be..." Hiro started, his face lighting up in a way that always made Jamie's breath hitch, only to be cut off by a loud tune from his pocket. Pulling out his phone, he took one look at the screen before the look crashed into a deep frown and, if Jamie's hopeful imagination wasn't acting up again, a flicker of disappointment. "I guess that's not in the cards for me. Come on Baymax, Fred...is struggling with freaked out Wasabi." He finished, his voice growing a little high and forced at the end, before making a beeline for the door, leaving Jamie struggling not to sag sadly in his seat. "Sorry Jamie." Hiro sighed, turning back to the guy as his hand grabbed the handle, the other one burying itself into his messy hair. "I hate to just run out on you like this, but...Fred will probably only make things worse on his own. We'll talk later, yeah?"
"Oh, sure, don't worry about it." Jamie replied, shaking his head as he forced his smile to stay on his face. "I'm here like clockwork apparently, so any time." He can't believe he said that.
"I'll check your schedule then." Hiro snorted back, offering the guy a final grin before taking off like a rocket.
"Goodbye." Baymax waved as he followed him out.
"Bye Baymax." Jamie waved back, waiting just long enough for them to leave before sighing down at the table, only to tense as he realised just how loud and dramatically he did it right in front of number of nosey adults. Opting to ignore all of them and pray it wasn't too read into after his previous coming out, he forced his attention to his food and chowed down. 'It wouldn't matter anyway.' He reminded himself, savouring the taste on his tongue, taking his time. 'I probably won't see them again and if I do, they'll probably forget all about this. It's not like they're making a big deal about it now, I'm just a source of amusement. A five minute chuckle. It's fine.' He wasn't sure if that thought was reassuring or a shot at his self esteem, but whatever. It's not like he could change anything now.
"Hey, Jamie." The poor boy almost choked as that voice met his ears again. Struggling with all he had to not look anything other than calm, he raised his head to find Cass wiping a table right in front of him. Or pretending to anyway, she was paying a lot more attention to him as his hesitant eyes met her twinkling ones. Though if she noticed the sudden trepidation he was feeling from drawing her attention again, she didn't show it. "You know that the parade's actually coming down this street this year, right?"
"Yeah." Jamie nodded uncertainly, not sure where this was going.
"Just thought I'd remind you. You know, so you can watch it from here if you want." Cass smiled back, casually straightening herself up before heading for the counter once more. "You're usually here by the middle of it anyway, so why not watch it with your cheesecake and ice cream? Oh, and your blueberry, strawberry smoothie, of course."
"Oh. Ok, why not?" It was official, after today, his face was going to be eternally red. Giving her one last nod, he turned back to his food and finished it as fast as he could before almost charging for the door. He barely managed a goodbye to the host before it closed behind him and took off as fast as he could for home, only groaning to himself again and again as the last look Cass gave him burned itself into his mind. One that was far too knowing for his liking. There was a good chance that she'd figured him out. Not to mention all the customers who got a frontline seat to his theatrics and a the medbot that could spill far too much to Hiro at any time! In retrospect, he'd been about as subtle as bomb with his secret back there.
'This is too much for one day.' Rubbing his temples as he ran, Jamie didn't stop until he'd made it all the way home, charged into his room and ploughed his head into his pillow. 'Maybe if I try really hard, I'll wake up and not have busted my secret to the two people most likely to tell Hiro. Come on Sandy, tell me this was your doing.'
Yeah, who was he kidding? He was screwed.
AN: Hey all. So, this is actually the first time I've actually tried my hand at a love focused story. Here's hoping it's not too cheesy. This was going to be a oneshot, but, as usual for my attempts at oneshots, it's grown too big and will gain a second chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.
