A/N: Hi everyone! So I know this is going to be a bit of a disappointment probably, but this is the last chapter! This chapter will be a bit of an epilogue to wrap up what happened throughout the story. Now that the brothers are reunited, we can finally give them a happy ending! Based on how well you all seemed to take this story, I'm definitely planning to write more for this fandom! You've all been so nice to me so I'm excited to see where else my muse will take me. So tell me in a review what else you'd like to see me write for Big Hero 6? Angst? Romance? Adventure? I'm open to suggestions! Thanks, guys.

ALSO: this is set up more like a series of drabbles as the brothers get reacquainted with one another, so pardon the choppiness. It jumps around in timeframe a lot and gives little snapshots of their first couple of weeks back together.

That first night (and the next few nights) Hiro slept in Tadashi's bed beside his big brother, just to be sure that he wasn't going anywhere. He had missed him so much and just lying down next to him, hearing him breathe, seeing the gentle rise and fall of Tadashi's chest reassured him that his brother was here, alive, real. Aunt Cass had been an emotional wreck when the two had first walked in. Hiro realized they owed her an explanation but wasn't sure how to brooch it. He just knew they couldn't lie. There was no lying about this. He had to start from the beginning. So with their aunt sobbing, gasping, in shock and in joy on the sofa, he recounted every event since Tadashi had been presumed dead as his brother put an arm around her gently to comfort her. When he finished, Aunt Cass looked like a deer in headlights, completely stunned, tears silently rolling off her cheeks as she clutched first at her eldest nephew, held him close as if to ascertain his existence, then her youngest, enveloping him in a tight, warm hug as her tears seeped into his sweatshirt, left dark water spots.

Hiro lay awake as Tadashi slept fitfully, still a little afraid that he would fall asleep and wake up to find that this was all just a dream. When morning came, however, he awoke with a start, surprised he had let himself nod off. The bed was empty aside from him. "Tadashi?" he questioned softly, suddenly filled with a sense of dread. "Tadashi?"

"Hiro?" His brother was standing in the doorway, hair tussled from sleep. "I-I didn't want to wake you up…"

The younger brother let out a sigh of relief.

"I was just getting to know my way around the house again," Tadashi explained with a wan smile. "It…it's been a while."

The fourteen year old smiled his gap-toothed grin as the familiar joy that had flooded him since his brother's return filled him once more. He leapt out of bed and practically tackled Tadashi with a hug. "It's really you," he said.

"Yeah, buddy, it's really me," Tadashi answered, embracing his brother.

"They told me you died. I thought you were dead," Hiro sniffled, the familiar tears threatening to break loose again. He hadn't gotten the full story from his brother, hadn't even asked. He was too busy reveling in the feeling of having him again.

Tadashi's expression got cloudy. "Hiro…"

"What?"

"It's just…I…Callaghan told me that you were dead." He watched his little brother's face register shock. He didn't want to tell him but he felt he had to. "He told me…he told me you ran in after me and that…" he gulped, "well, you know. I got knocked out by a falling beam and he…he used your microbots to shield the both of us but h-he said that he couldn't get to you in time."

Hiro wasn't used to seeing Tadashi cry. He had cried at their initial reunion, but only a little. Now, as he confessed what had happened, it looked like his older brother would never stop crying. "It was my fault. It was all my fault. I-I rushed in there and I didn't even think about you."

"You did the right thing," the younger brother tried to comfort him.

"Did I?" Tadashi asked, somewhat forcefully. "I thought I lost you, Hiro. I thought you were gone forever and it was all my fault."

"Callaghan lied to you, Tadashi. It wasn't your fault that he did that!"

"But what if he wasn't lying? What if you actually did…die? The whole time…all I could think about was you. After Mom and Dad died, it was me who was supposed to be looking out for you, Hiro. It was my responsibility. And what if I really had let you down? What would I be? I don't want that to ever happen to you! You're my little brother…I can't let that happen to you." His voice was hoarse and ragged, strangled in his throat by sobs trying to wrench their way past his lips as he blamed himself for something that hadn't even come true. "I love you, Hiro," Tadashi hugged his brother with renewed strength and the boy reciprocated.

"Tadashi," Hiro whispered. "When you ran into the fire and the building exploded…I thought you were gone forever. I-I…didn't know what it was like to lose Mom and Dad. I was too young but you…I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I was scared and alone and I wanted to die. And…" he swallowed hard. He hadn't told anyone this part. No one knew besides his friends who had been there. "I…did some really bad things…" He saw his brother's questioning look. "I reprogrammed Baymax. I put a chip in him to make him destroy the person who killed you! I took apart everything that you worked for and I…I told Baymax to kill Callaghan. I was so angry…and I would have let him do it if Honey Lemon didn't stop me…I'm so, so sorry! I just didn't know what else to do."

The older brother squeezed the younger one close to him. There was so much pain and hurt and…feelings that neither one could name.

"Tadashi?" Hiro asked, his voice suddenly serious and his brown eyes leveled with his older brother's, "why did you help him?"

It was a question he had struggled with since Callaghan had first revealed the possibility that Tadashi was still alive. Why would Tadashi help Callaghan build a device to be used for such evil purposes? Why would his brother, the definition of good guy be an accomplice in all that?

Tadashi sighed guiltily. "I didn't know what he was planning. I should've known but I pretended not to see it." His voice was filled with self-reproach. "He told me you died and that Krei was the one responsible. He didn't know that Abigail survived the teleporter's collapse. He wanted revenge…and so did I. But I never thought he planned to kill Krei! I thought he was planning to reveal how dangerous he was and get him locked away. Or at least ruin his career so he couldn't possibly hurt anyone else. When I found out the truth…he locked me in the pod and put me in hyper-sleep so that I wouldn't reveal it."

Hiro was relieved. His brother had not been willingly complicit in the portal's ultimate use. For a long while the two brothers just sat there on the floor, content to be near each other, to be secure in the knowledge that things were finally okay, finally back to normal. That they were finally reunited.

"Are these your designs?" Tadashi asked, indicating Hiro's drafting board in the corner of the bedroom.

"Yeah," Hiro nodded, looking up from the bed as his brother regarded him with a look of wonder. "Why?"

"They're really good!" Tadashi exulted, beaming with pride. "Way better than anything I've ever seen before. Have you shown them to anybody?"

"Not yet," the boy admitted. "I was planning to show them to Dean Miura next week when he came to inspect how the science and technology students were doing on their independent projects."

Tadashi nodded in understanding. "Yeah I was wondering what happened now that Callaghan isn't at SFIT anymore…"

Hiro shrugged. "Dean Miura said the sci-tech students could work on independent projects until a new professor is hired or work on their core classes. Or switch majors."

"Hmm," Tadashi mumbled in affirmation was as he strolled around Hiro's side of the room, examining new papers tacked on the corkboard, new gadgets that had materialized on his brother's desk. He had missed so much in this last year and seeing all of these little tokens reminded him of that fact. He was startled by a newspaper clipping that detailed the grand opening of the newly constructed Tadashi Hamada Exhibition Hall. "They named a building after me?" he questioned, an apprehensive, almost embarrassed expression on his face.

"Yeah," Hiro scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I…kind of petitioned the university to name the new exhibition center that and they agreed…"

"Change it back!" Tadashi almost begged.

"What?"

"Petition them to change it back. Never mind, I'll do it myself."

"But why?" Hiro's first instinct was to laugh at how flustered his brother was getting, but then he realized what having his name on the building meant. "Wait…I'll go with you," he suggested.

"You're doing it again," Hiro pointed out as the brothers took their first walk to the university together.

"Huh?" Tadashi asked.

"Grinning like an idiot," Hiro teased.

"What can I say?" his older brother threw an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in closer. "I'm really proud. How many other guys get to say they're going to college with their fourteen year old genius of a brother?"

"It's not even my first day of class, though," the boy protested good-naturedly. In reality, he was so glad to be walking with Tadashi. Normally, the others would drop by the Lucky Cat to walk with him. It was nice to have a group of friends, but Hiro had always felt alone on those morning walks, acutely aware of who was missing. Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, and GoGo had decided to meet up with the Hamada brothers at school, opting to let them enjoy one another's company on the way there today.

"You're right," Tadashi admitted. "It's our first day of class," he grinned, ruffling his brother's hair, causing the boy to flip out over how messed up it was now.

It wasn't easy for Tadashi to accept Hiro's place in Big Hero 6. Or Honey Lemon's. Or Wasabi's. Or GoGo's. Or Fred's. Or Baymax…the whole idea just seemed so foreign and out there to him. Superheroes were revered in the dog-eared comics that Fred was always reading. They didn't exist in the real world. And despite the brightly-colored outfits his friends turned up in on the day of his rescue. Despite Baymax literally flying them back to the mainland, he still had a tough time accepting that his nerdy friends and his dorky kid brother were actual crime-fighting, justice-protecting heroes. But if they were all going to be a part of it, then he resolved to be involved as well.

"So when does Big Hero 6 become Big Hero 7?" Tadashi finally asked one night, glancing from his bed past the rice paper screen to Hiro's desk, where the boy was concentrating furiously on a new design. Hiro's pencil snapped at his brother's question. He had been rocking the chair back on its hind legs and the whole thing tipped over, landing him square on his back. "Ow!"

A telltale hissing noise told both brothers that Baymax was inflating. "Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion." The robot carefully stepped out of his charging station. Tadashi nearly fell off the bed in a fit of laughter. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Hiro glared at his older brother as the infographic flashed across Baymax's abdomen. He ignored the robot.

"On a scale of one to ten…" he began to repeat.

"Baymax, I'm satisfied with my care," Hiro said quickly.

"Hiro, I have not finished my examination yet. Please hold still."

"Fine," the boy huffed, allowing the robot to scan him.

"You have a minor bruise on your upper back. Treatment options include applying a cold compress." The robot's hands glowed blue and he quickly pressed them to the boy's back. Hiro's eyes widened in shock and he jumped out of the way with a loud exclamation.

"Baymax, I'm fine, really!" he was practically pleading with the healthcare robot to avoid another cold touch to the back. "You can go back to charging now. Tadashi and I have to discuss something. I'm satisfied with my care."

"Very well, Hiro," Baymax relented. "You should exercise more caution in the future. Rocking on your chair is dangerous." The robot shuffled back to his charging station, stepped into it, and compressed.

"What did you ask me earlier?" he asked once the robot had returned to his port.

"I said, when does Big Hero 6 become Big Hero 7? When do I get to join?"

Hiro was surprised. He hadn't anticipated that question. Tadashi was already a superhero in his book. Besides, he had just gotten his big brother back. He was afraid that making him a hero could lead to a more permanent loss. "Never," he said adamantly.

"W-what?" Tadashi sputtered.

"You heard me," Hiro replied.

"Why not?" Tadashi challenged, acutely aware of how childish he sounded. Who's the big brother here?

"Because. It's…it's dangerous."

"Then all the more reason why I should go. You need adult supervision, Hiro."

"Isn't that what Baymax is for?"

"Baymax is a robot that I invented to treat injuries and heal people. He's not a babysitter!" Tadashi's voice was rising and he rose to his feet.

"Well everyone else is nineteen. GoGo's almost twenty!"

Tadashi shook his head. "That's not the point, Hiro. When you go to answer one of those calls…I worry about you. Aunt Cass worries about you, too."

"Well then how come she doesn't send someone after me or demand to be part of the team?" Hiro challenged, stubborn in his conviction that Tadashi should not join the team.

The older brother sighed. "I was able to convince her that Baymax was the safest guardian around but that doesn't change the fact that I would feel a whole lot better if I was there with you. I'm worried all the time for you, Hiro! I'm worried that…that I could…"

The younger brother was taken aback by Tadashi's implication. The next thing he knew, he was hugging his brother again. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know t-that you worry about me and I know you'd feel better if you were there but I almost lost you once already and I'm…I'm just too scared to put you on the team and risk losing you again," he confessed.

"It's okay…but I worry about you, too! When you're out there fighting crime. I know you're in good hands—I trust my friends...But when you're there and I'm here it makes me feel like I did when I was in the lab working for Callaghan," he hugged his brother back, then let him go. "Besides," he added with a mischievous grin, "those super suits are sick."

Tadashi didn't end up joining Big Hero 6. He was certain if he fought harder he could have convinced Hiro to change his mind, but ultimately he knew his little brother would constantly be fearing for him. And that would mess with his own ability to do his job. Besides, he reasoned, Hiro was smart and he had Baymax and four other people with him. He would be fine.

In the meantime, they had found him something else to do so that he could still be involved in the team and monitor what they were doing. It was Fred's idea actually.

"Every superhero team needs a guy at HQ," he had explained. "Like an awesome butler or a super cool tech guy or a police commissioner who secretly calls the hero in to solve cases he can't solve on his own. Tadashi could be our HQ guy!"

He had to admit, he wasn't crazy about the idea at first, but he wanted to feel involved somehow. These were his best friends and he had already missed out on a lot with them. Plus, holding down the fort from the garage and dispatching the team to places where trouble was reported gave him peace of mind. He could see where Hiro and the others were, received live feedback from their suits determining if they were injured or not, and could communicate with them to ascertain they were okay.

And Hiro even made him a super suit. Granted, it didn't give him any unique powers like it did the others, but it was durable, insulated for cold weather and vented for hot weather, waterproof, bulletproof, and fire resistant (just in case, Hiro had told him, even though both found the joke to be morbid). He was a certifiable member of the team now, and even though it was weird for him to imagine his barely-a-teen kid brother as a superhero, he had to admit he was incredibly proud.

There was nothing Tadashi and Hiro appreciated more than sharing a meal together. They used to eat breakfast with each other every morning—it was their debriefing time, a time to catch up because Tadashi's class schedule sometimes required him to stay late and he couldn't always be home to catch Hiro before he went to sleep. It was this ritual that Hiro missed most while Tadashi was away, as they had taken to calling it because "gone" brought back to many painful memories.

The ritual had expanded now, also including Honey Lemon, Wasabi, GoGo, and Fred. Aunt Cass delighted in a having her café full of the friends' laughter again, seeing her nephews—both of them—together and happy. The group was giggling over Fred's repeated attempts to prove he could balance a teaspoon on his nose. He couldn't.

Honey Lemon made a comment across the table to GoGo that was lost in the general din of the restaurant. Fred gave up on the spoon on the nose trick, instead using the same spoon to catapult tater tots into his mouth, causing Honey Lemon to crack up while GoGo rolled her eyes. Wasabi wasn't paying any mind to his friends' antics, instead rearranging the sugar packets on the table so that the white sugar was grouped together, then the diet sweetener, then the cane sugar.

Tadashi drained his coffee mug and set it down with a solid thud, shaking his head at the spectacle the group was making. His eyes met Hiro's across the table and it was like the brothers could read each other's thoughts. This was their family. Full and complete and together and happy.

A/N: And there you have it. The official conclusion to this piece. And also my headcanon. All of this happens post-movie as far as I'm concerned and you will never tell me otherwise. You're welcome to consider it the same way. Thank you again for all of your support and your kind reviews. They always encouraged me to keep writing.

I know this was short, but as I said I do have more in the works. Please send me your ideas for a fic you'd like to read regarding Big Hero 6! Or at least tell me what genre you'd like to see. I'm open to any and all suggestions! Thank you so, so much for reading. It's been such a pleasure to write this story and give a happier ending to the film's events. One more review on your way out? What do you say?