Big Hero Sick (Big Hero 6, Honey Lemon) [Pt. 1/?]

[Via]

This was an off-forum secret santa gift for @Paws, and the first fanfic I've written in a long, long time, featuring Honey Lemon coming down with a terrible cold and Gogo attempting (key word) to play the role of caretaker. This is just the kickoff, and subsequent parts should have a lot more to them fetish-wise, but I hope there's something here to enjoy nonetheless!

 

The mini-basketball hurtled through the air, a perfect amalgam of force, direction, and spin. It arced above the apartment’s cluttered floor, bapped neatly against the backboard mounted on the door, rebounded back down through the netless hoop to bounce off the floor, up and over the heaps of clothes and discarded takeout boxes, and, with balletic beauty, land right back into Gogo Tomago’s outstretched hand.

A perfect three-pointer, yet again. Number… 38. At least.

Lying flopped upside-down across the back cushion of her couch, Gogo dropped the ball from above-head height, watching it bounce down and then fall back up to roll across the debris-strewn floor. Bounce, bounce, bounce, one-two-three. This was it, right here. The height of entertainment, the best possible usage of her precious days of freedom. Stupid apartment basketball.

She groaned.

Jeez, guys, way to have actual lives. No care for poor Gogo. The thought was only half-joking; it obviously wasn’t their fault, but it seemed to her like fate had conspired to make sure every. single. friend was conveniently out of town or otherwise engaged for the majority of their January break. She gave a languid stretch along the couch, sliding down the cushion further like a Tomago-shaped ooze, and went down the list again, just to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anyone (she hadn’t): Hiro and Cass were off on some international robotics exhibition, Wasabi had retreated to the coast for a stress-relief meditation retreat (maybe this time it would actually work, she thought ruefully), Fred had been dragged off by his family to Barbados or the Cayman Islands or where-the-hell-ever, and Honey Lemon… was Honey Lemon. Not An Option, her supersonic go-getter side said firmly. Honey was her friend, duh, but friends can still be friends without wanting to spend any appreciable amount of time with each other alone and oh god what if she made her guinea-pig for ‘spontaneous fashion design’ again, that permanganate pink had taken weeks to wash out of her leather jacket…

But at least she’d be doing something.

Gogo heaved a heavy, theatrical sigh, and the slight motion was just enough to shift her precarious position on the edge of the couch. She slipped down backwards with a yelp, twisting in the air and narrowly avoiding impact with an empty container of noodles. Whatever. Desperate times, desperate measures. Honey Lemon probably wasn’t actually free anyway, and then she could go back to her regularly-scheduled wallowing in lethargic self-pity—but for now, it was at least worth a shot. She springboarded back onto her feet, pacing around the apartment to track down her phone oh wait there it was on the windowsill, and fired off a text.

>hey

Fast, terse, noncommittal. Perfect. Now that she’d made required cursory effort to kick off some social interaction, she could go back to—

>>Hi Gogo!! 👋 💖

She hadn’t even put her phone down. Gogo watched, nonplussed, as the little ellipses-bubble by Honey Lemon’s name morphed into another nauseatingly-perky IM:

>>What’s up? Enjoying your break ☃ ??

 

>its okay

>wyd

 

>>I’m at the lab!! 🤓 Working on metaphasic alloying… slow going so far BUT!! I might have a breakthrough soon! 😲 💪

 

>what

>why
 

>>Well!! If the new materials I’m testing stabilize in superphase… AAAAH there’s so much to explain! Stupid phone keyboard isn’t fast enough LOL 😂

 

>no

>why are you there

>in lab

>its winter break

>why are you at school

 

>>OMG Gogo 😂 !!! Just because class is out doesn’t mean we’re banned from campus! This is the ooooonly time i have to work on lil pet projects like this! 😻 🔬

>>I’ll be here until 9… u should come over 💕 🚲 !! It’s lonely without Hiro and all my friends 😭

>>What do u say? Girl’s night?? After nerd lab closes we can go see a movie or something, my treat!! ♀ 🍿

 

Gogo stared at her phone, eyes narrowed in an exceedingly rare moment of indecision. She cracked her gum, thoughts ping-ponging back and forth: Stay, go, stay, go… ugh. Anything beat another day of avoiding cleaning and beating her own high scores in LimitRacers DX for the she-didn’t-even-know-how-manyth time. She pouted at the screen, thankful Honey Lemon couldn’t see, and fired back:

>k

>there in 5

Boots, helmet, wheels, wallet-keys-phone-bag-ready-go—Gogo slammed the door behind her, maglev discs tucked tightly under one arm. She took the stairs down three at a time, swinging around the landings, and practically leapt out into the overcast late-January afternoon, disks already latched onto each foot. Pushing off, she covered the first few feet of San Fransokyo sidewalk in a smooth glide—and then stopped short, fishing her phone from her back pocket.

 

>but i pick the movie

---

4 minutes and 32 seconds later (not a new record, but not bad either), Gogo pulled a picture-perfect hockey stop in front of the Tadashi Hamada lab’s plexiglass doors. Letting the disks lock back into place, she took a breath in through her nose and pulled open both doors wham-bam, striding in like a center-runway model.

“Gogo!” Honey Lemon’s voice rang through the lab, piercingly bright and cheerful. Gogo had just enough time to see her pirouetting from the lab table before she was thrown into a warm and (over)enthusiastic hug. “How are you!!”
 

“Fine! I’m fine,” she muttered, quickly disentangling herself with a reluctant smile. “It’s only been four days, dude.”

“Four days without my best friends!” Honey Lemon looked scandalized. “It’s like an eternity! But! You’re here now, so let’s make the most of it!” With a squeeze of Gogo’s shoulder, she darted back to the lab’s chem corner, calling over her shoulder as she went. “C'mere c'mere c'mere! You got here right as I was about to try another phase formulation, and this is going. To be. The one! I can feel it!” She beckoned vigorously, round face flushed with excitement, and Gogo followed, eying up the Rube-Goldberg-esque arrangement of beakers and glass piping with bemused interest. “Okay, just stand right there! You’ll have a perfect view if—I mean when! When it stabilizes in the crucible!”

“Here?” Gogo gestured to the large glass orb at the table’s edge, where a small fragment of silvery metal suspended in what looked like a clear gel.

“Mhm! Perfect! All right, nowwwwww…” Honey Lemon trailed off, flitting around the table to fiddle with various valves and spectrometers, and then leapt back, a giddy smile on her face. “Cross your fingers, Gogo! Lights, camera, superphase!”

With a flourish, she spun the largest valve free. A shimmery cyan gas began to percolate through the various tubes, changing colors several times along the way before settling in the crucible as a gorgeous emerald green. The gel inside grew cloudy as the metal inside it expanded, then contracted, then bubbled…and then, with a burst of light and a gunshot-loud report, it seemed to flash to vapor, leaving nothing inside the crucible but billowing pale green steam.

Gogo blew a bubble, quirking an eyebrow as it popped. “Was that… supposed to happen, or…?”

“Awwh, really?” For the briefest of moments, Honey Lemon’s face fell into a disappointed pout. “I thought I totally had it—oh! Wait, waitwaitwaitwait, did I…” Brows furrowed, she made another circle of the table, bending over to examine each readout… before snapping back upright with a theatrical smack to her forehead. “Ohhhh my gosh, duh! I had everything set up with the old pressure differential, so of course it’s going to hit flashpoint and poof before the reaction’s done! Honey Lemon, what has gotten into you? I’m so scattered today, I swear!”

As she hopped up to reach a nearby bookshelf, Gogo couldn’t help but notice the ring of truth in the words. Honey was still herself—bubbly, exuberant, irrepressible—but something felt just a little off. The differences were subtle, but on a girl like her, you noticed: the slight frizz of her hair, the smudge of her makeup, the paleness of her skin, the occasional (and quickly-corrected) slump in her posture… signs of effort on someone who usually made it all look effortless. Must be working hard, Gogo thought, and wondered idly if this 'pet project’ had been going on since break had started. Wouldn’t put it past her—

“Okay! Gogo, I need you to do me a huuuuuuge favor!” Honey Lemon sidled back from the bookshelf, holding a bulging pink binder open to a page of curlicued handwritten notes—which was thrust into Gogo’s hands before she could even question what the favor was. “The table that says 'Derived PD? I’m going to call out rows and columns from there, and you give me the number! All right?”

“Uh-huh. Lab monkey see, lab monkey do. Got it.”

“Oh, Gogo, you know it’s not like that! You’re a lifesaver honestly—this is soooooo much easier with two people now that I don’t have to keep flipping back and forth myself! But okayokayokay, ummm… column two row three!”

“Uhh…38.264."

“Perfect! Column three row three!”

“41.773.”

“Done! Column four row five?”

“…there’s just a bunch of question marks.”

“Wait, really? Oh! Right of course what color ink?”

Gogo blinked. “Uh…purple?”

“Got it! Column five row five!”

“How did you—”

“Later! I’m in the zone!”

Gogo opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again, letting a sigh escape through her nose even as she fought the smile on her face. “…38.441.”

---

“Okay! We got this. We. Have. Got this! Eighth time’s the charm—I mean ninth! This is ninth right?” Honey Lemon looked to Gogo, who shrugged. “What is my memory tonight, I swear! Ninth it is! Lights, camera…”

Honey Lemon and Gogo both paused—the former with her hand on the lever, the latter surrounded by a pile of binders and impenetrable chem books that had been steadily increasing through the night—as the door to the lab opened, revealing a jowly middle-aged campus security guard.

“Sorry to interrupt, girls, but I gotta close up—”

Honey Lemon gave an enthusiastic wave. “Oh! Hi Todd!! Ohmygosh is it nine already? The time just—where did it go?” She reluctantly stepped back from the lever, then eyed Gogo. “But you know what that means!”

Gogo frowned. “What?”

“Giiiiiiiiiirls’ niiiiiiiiiight!” Honey Lemon’s voice gave the tiniest of cracks as she practically sang the words, shrugging on a pale brown overcoat (perfectly offsetting her yellow sweater) and tugging her friend past the slightly-bewildered guard. “Seeya Todd! Have a good night!!” Halfway down the hall, she turned to Gogo. “What time’s the movie start?”

Oh right. The movie. She’d almost forgotten it in the haze of formulas, differentials, and Honey Lemon waxing poetic about molecular bonding patterns. “Lemme check,” she murmured, tapping at her phone. “…9:10.”

“What?! Gogoooo, you should’ve told me it started earlier! I wouldn’t have kept us in there all the way 'till close! The project can totally wait; time with my friend is so much more important!”

Gogo shook her head, a smirk curling at her lips as her magwheels chnked into place on her feet. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get there.”

“But what about…”

Another chnk, and the back of Gogo’s boots opened to reveal a set of spurs, not unlike the ones you’d find on the wheels of a bike. “Grab a helmet from the lab and get on. Don’t let go.”

The blonde’s eyes widened behind her glasses. “Are you sure?”

“We got seven minutes.”

After a moment’s deliberation, Honey Lemon nodded—and then broke into a grin, eyes shining with excitement. “This is going to be so much fun!”

---

5 minutes and 13 seconds later, Gogo pushed open the door to the theater lobby and made a beeline for the ticket kiosk. “Two for Captain Antartica.” She glanced behind her in the line, fingers drumming impatiently on the countertop “We should still have enough time to get popcorn and stuff. Go get in line while I grab th—"

Gogo blinked as she made eye contact with a ballcap-wearing teenage boy who was most definitely not Honey Lemon. “Not you!” she said quickly, snatching the tickets and ducking out of the line. A quick scan of the lobby, and there she was: leaning against the wall by the theater’s front door. Gogo jogged over, face set in an irritated frown. “Honey Lemon, what’re you…oh.” Just like that, the frown morphed from irritation to concern. “Uh, you okay?”

“Yeah! Just.…great, honestly! It was amazing! Just, uhh… whew! Just… lil’ dizzy, lil out of breath…I’m fine!” She gave a thumbs-up and a disheveled smile, the other hand clasped to her forehead. “Can’t believe we made it here so fast!”

Gogo’s frown deepened. “You sure? You’re, like, shivering.”

Honey Lemon’s hair bounced back and forth as she shook her head, as if for further emphasis. “Just chilly! It was freezing out there, all that wind… but it’s perfect in here! I’ll be all toasty in no time! Anyway, did you get the tickets? We should go and get snacks before the previews end and try to grab good seats! Let’s goooOOHMYGOSHI'msosorryGogo!!”

Gogo glanced up at her friend, who’d nearly collapsed into her arms after making a dramatic push-off from the wall. “Uh-huh. Look, I’m sorry if I messed this up, but I didn’t know how else we were gonna—”

“No!” Honey Lemon cut her off, shaking her head even more vigorously—Gogo caught the briefest flash of a wince across her face as she did. “Nononono, oh my gosh, please! That was… incredible, honestly! And it was the only way we’d get here on time! But seriously, I’m… I’m okay! I’m okay. Oh-kay-aye-why. Once I get my butt in a seat and relax, I’ll be fine!” She sniffed, rubbing a hand at her wind-reddened nose, and started towards concessions at a slightly wobbly power-walk. “Let’s goooo! No time to waste!”

“…If you say so,” Gogo muttered, and followed.

The trip from concessions to the theater passed without incident, though she did see Honey Lemon grab a fist-sized wad of napkins from the dispenser as they moved down the hall towards the theater proper. A little much, Gogo thought, but then again, the popcorn was pretty greasy. They found their seats just as the previews finished, and as the opening rumbles of cinematic scoring began to play, her earlier worries began to fade. Honey Lemon did look better, as much as she could see in the dim light of the theater.

If she says she’s fine, she’s fine, she chided herself, settling back in her seat and trying to relax. She’d been looking forward to this movie.

---

“That. Was. Awesome!!” Honey Lemon effused, nearly skipping as they made their way down the theater hallway. “Like, I never thought I was an action movie person? But I was so so so wrong! The costume design alone, just… AAAH! I could write an essay!”

*The *costumes? Figures. Gogo glanced over, lips curling. “So you hated it, right?”

“Gogoooo!” By way of response, Honey Lemon yanked her into a hug, nearly lifting the shorter girl up off her feet. “We have got to do this again sometime, oh my gosh— oh!! Waitwaitwait!” She half-released the hug, keeping one hand firmly clasped around Gogo’s shoulder as she fished around in her coat pocket. “Selfie time!! Get closer!”

Gogo sighed, but obeyed, giving her usual casual smirk to offset Honey Lemon’s megawatt smile. “Fine. Just one.”

“Three, two…whuh…” Honey Lemon paused midcount, giving a sudden, distinctly wet-sounding sniffle. She winced. “Eugh, sorry! Okay, three, two, one… say 'beryllium!”

A few flashes later, she pulled back, beaming. “Perfect! Oh my gosh we look so good.” She offered the screen to Gogo, who took it out of obligation more than anything else.

“Well, duh.” Her eyebrows raised as she saw the photo—she looked like her usual self, but the flash had thrown Honey Lemon’s face into relief, highlighting the redness around her nose and eyes. The theater had been plenty warm… but if anything, they looked more irritated than before. And was it just the lighting, or did she seem paler than normal, too?

“…Looks great,” she said, handing the phone back. You’re not her mom, dude. Don’t get weird about it.

“Doesn’t it? I’m sending it to Hiro and the gang right now!” They were almost at the lobby doors now, Honey Lemon pulling her coat tightly around her as if to steel herself for the chill. “Seriously, though. Gogo. I am so, so glad you came over! Are you free tomorrow?”

“Uh…” The thought of another day spent slowly fusing into her couch came and went, and Gogo nodded. “Yeah.”

Honey Lemon clapped her hands together. “Perfect! There’s this adorable cafe that just opened on 38th, and I was going to wait until after break to bring everyone there, but it just looks so cute and I wanna show you th….hh…h-hangon…!” She sniffed, her slender index finger slowly rising into the air as she stared at something indistinct behind Gogo’s head, eyes distant, her free hand fishing for a crumpled napkin in her coat pocket. “Gottasneehh… hiiiihhh…!”
 

“HHIAHSHIEEW! Hhh.…hieEH'SHEEW!! hhhiiIH'SHHIIEW! Hhn…”

 

Honey Lemon’s head pitched forward into the long-suffering napkin with a trio of surprisingly loud sneezes, her hair bouncing enthusiastically with each desperately vocal release. She sniffled thickly, slowly drawing back upright, and gave a sheepish, somewhat bleary smile. “Oh my gosh bless me! This weather, I swear! Anyway, I’m gonna catch a cab… but seriously, Gogo, text me!! See you tomorrow, love you, muah~!” With one last quick squeeze and a blown kiss at Gogo, she pushed out of the lobby doors and into the January night, walking quickly towards the nearby intersection.

“Wait! Honey Lemon!” Gogo shoved the doors back open before they could close fully, yelling after her friend. That had been a pretty abrupt exit by Honey standards—something was definitely up.

Honey Lemon paused on the edge of the sidewalk, spinning neatly on her heel. “What? What is it?”

“Uhh….” Gogo blinked, the accusatory words drying up to nothingness before they could leave her mouth. “Have a good night.”

“Awwwh, Gogo! You’re too sweet!! You too! Byyyyye!” She gave a fully-body wave, then pulled her coat closer and disappeared around the corner of the building.

Gogo sighed. With one last glance after Honey Lemon, she let her disks snap on and pushed off, letting the wind whistle away her thoughts. Worrying, much less worrying about her friends, wasn’t something she was used to—she usually it to Wasabi, who was perpetually freaked enough for all six of them and then some. But now, with only the two of them, she felt…concerned? Responsible? Whatever. She didn’t know, didn’t care, it didn’t matter. Chill, dude, she thought, taking a corner at a shudder-inducing angle. She’ll take care of herself…

 

And if she doesn’t, so help me I’m gonna do it for her.

 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Subsiss

[Captain Carol]

THIS IS WONDERFUL! I can't wait to see more

[Guest]

 OMG! I LOVE BH6! This was beautiful  

[Sneezingnonstop]

Absolutely loving this Big Hero 6(or Sick) fanfiction, Honey Lemon’s character is so accurate to what i would imagine lol. Can’t wait to see more!

[monochrome]

Okay, I'll admit I read this a few weeks ago but it's... well, this fic has literally been on my mind ever since.

Firstly--the characterization?? It's so frickin good, dude. I love the little quirks you write in (like the way Gogo checks the duration of her travels down to the second, or the fact that Honey Lemon knows the data she's written down just by the color of the ink...) the small things just add so much color to the story.

And Gogo's perspective is just so well done. She's perceptive but logical, not too quick to assume things, but she picks up on all the subtle signs around her, which is. Just so like her. And Honey Lemon, on the other hand, friendly with everyone (even the security guard), nearly passing out on Gogo and still retaining her sunshine personality (???? !!!!), commenting on the costumes of all things in the movie... you really have me falling in love with these two.

Both of them feel so believable and real and seriously, I don't think I've ever seen someone write them as well as you do. Also, your writing is. So. Damn. Gorgeous ???? LIKE... I don't even know how you pull it off. Makes me feel Honey Lemon-levels of excitement over this fic.

Speaking of Honey Lemon, the subtle signs of her illness coming on are, um, super great. Makes me feel like I'm reading a detective story because it's not at all over the top, but it's all there. Which... is exactly how oncoming illness works, I guess? Which makes the story even more believable.

Okay, before I stop rambling, one last thing--the ending of this chapter has me in frickin stitches. The fact that Gogo is planning to ask Honey Lemon what's wrong, but her accusation just melts into something soft? Holy shit. I love this story so much, and I love you for writing it.

[mysterysneeze]

@monochrome

the comment you said here is spot on and very well written. I also loved this story and I think Subsiss did a great job with how he wrote the characters. 

 

@Subsiss

thank you so much for taking the time to write this story. I really enjoy the ideas you have and it was fun reading this story! I still remember your story with the two different archer girls and while that story is different both this story here and that story had great feeling to it with how each character is written. I like reading their personalities in both their actions and dialogue. Seriously, thank you for taking time writing sneeze stories ^^

[SexyGodlikeHair]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH ! I usually prefer the  sick Gogo / caretaker Honey Lemon dynamic, so I wasn't sure how if I'd like this, but it blew me away. It's awesome, I can't wait for the next chapter

[Katzoo12]

Hey, I really love this story. Especially Honey’s characterization and sneezes. It’s actually been a while since I last saw the movie (translation: years) but already I can’t wait for more! When’s the next update?