Hello! So, this is... something? Uh, enjoy?

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this work. All characters belong to Disney/Marvel.

"What?"

Tadashi starts at the noise, the tray full of dirty glasses shaking in his hands as he tries not to trip, his sneakers catching against a tacky patch of spilled coffee. Carefully, he steadies himself against a table, anxiety leaping into his throat as he looks around the empty café. He's already wiped down the display case and cleared the tables, with the last of the glassware resting in his hands. All he has left to do now is the floors.

But what if he's not working fast enough? He's been trying his best, but he's so scared of breaking something, of getting fired. He's only been here for a week and he can't mess this up— he needs the money, even if it's not much.

Swallowing, he tightens his grip on the tray in his hands and marches into the kitchen. He nearly drops it again when he realizes that his boss is standing there, leaning against the counter with the phone pressed against her ear.

He didn't hear it ring.

Tadashi makes a move to back up, but she waves him forward, her face a little anxious. And he would be lying if he said he didn't like her. Cass— or Aunt Cass, as she liked to be called— was a really nice woman. Pretty too. She'd given him— sixteen year old, lanky Tadashi— a job when he'd been desperate and she'd even been willing to work around his weird hours, with him going to school during the day and visiting his mom in the hospital in the evenings.

Really. She was lovely.

"I know you really need— is there someone else you can call? You know I have," Cass makes a frustrated noise into the phone like she's been cut off as he sets the glasses down by the sink and begins washing them, careful not to let them slip in his hands because they might break and he doesn't know what he would do if he were to mess something up right in front of her. "I can't just leave Hiro here! He's four!"

One of the coffee mugs falls with a clank and his back straightens as the broken glass sinks into the soapy water. Oh, no. He broke it and Cass is still there and she already looks frustrated and—

"Fine!" The phone slams on the hook; Cass heaves a sigh.

"I," he starts, ready to apologize and offer to pay for it even though he can't afford it and it's just a glass, but she pats him on the back, suddenly right next to him, all green eyes and frizzy brown hair.

"Broken, huh," she snorts, peering into the sink. "I think that's one of the first ones I bought for this place. It's a wonder it made it this long."

Her tone is light and teasing, but he sways anxiously anyway. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she responds, bending down to turn the knob. The water begins to rush down the drain, soap and all. And he wasn't done yet. There are still dirty glasses sitting on the counter. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but Cass turns and smiles at him a little wearily. "You should go ahead and pack up," she says. "I just got a call from one of the suppliers. Their freezers are down and I'll have to go pick up the shipment tonight if I want it to be any good. There's no sense in you staying here all night waiting for me to get back so you can lock up."

"Oh," he blinks at her, shuffling a little uncomfortably on his heels, "okay."

She smiles at his back as he pulls his apron over his head and folds it into a neat little square. "Are you free again tomorrow night," she asks, just as he's grabbing his bag from under the cash register.

Tadashi grasps the strap of his bag, tightening his grip on it as he thinks it over. He has school tomorrow until three and then he'll visit his mom at the hospital until visiting hours are over at seven. He has a test in a few days that he needs to study for and there's a project due on Friday, but— the electric bill will be coming in soon and he's nearly out of groceries already. He can spare as much time as she needs. "Yeah— Sure. Of course. I can be here whenever you need me."

"If only all my employees were as reliable as you," she laughs, cocking her hip to the side. Her green eyes glance at the stairs leading to the upper level of the house and her face seems to fall. "Hiro is not going to be happy about this," she mumbles, mostly to herself.

And Tadashi vaguely remembers her mentioning a Hiro while she was on the phone, a four year old that's probably sleeping upstairs that she's about to have to wake up and drag to who knows where because it's nearly midnight and no one can find a sitter on such short notice. He straightens with a little jolt at the thought, because he's here right now and he's not the best with children, but he owes her a lot already. It's the least he can do. "Hiro? Is that your son?"

Cass hums a little, shaking her head. "Nephew," she corrects. "His parents died last year, so I'm looking after him."

He swallows, "Are you going to have to take him with you to your— your supplier?"

"Unfortunately," she shrugs. "He hates car rides."

"Umm," Tadashi shuffles a bit, fingering the strap of his bag, "I could stay and watch him for a little while— if you want, I mean. I was supposed to be here for another couple of hours anyway."

She looks at him peculiarly for a moment, with her jaw a little slack and he's scared that he's overstepped his bounds and that she doesn't want him near her nephew because she doesn't really know him and he's just some scrawny high school kid— but then she smiles, all wide eyed and round cheeked, "You know, Tadashi, that would be wonderful. Hiro needs to meet new people."

And then he's following her up the stairs into her home, a little scared to cross the threshold that separates her business from her living area, but when he steps into it, no one jumps out of the wall and pushes him away. Instead, he feels warm and pleasant, his bag heavy against his side. Everything smells like sweets and dark oak and he doesn't think he's every smelled anything better in his entire life.

"Hiro, sweetie," Cass calls, walking passed the little kitchen and into the living room. The television is on, playing some sort of cartoon about dragons— the colorful kind that teach children how to speak to their friends— and there's a shuffling mound of blankets on the couch. It takes Tadashi a moment to realize that it's a little boy and that he's wide awake. "I have to go out for a little while, but a friend of mine," she motions to him, "is going to stay here and look after you. His name's Tadashi and you need to be nice to him, okay?"

The little boy on the couch looks at him and blinks with the biggest pair of chocolate-colored eyes he's ever seen. Tadashi waves back and tries to smile, but Hiro doesn't seem to like it. He huffs with his little shoulders and pouts. "Wanna go wiff you."

Cass laughs a little, shaking her head. "It's late, sweetie, and you need to stay here so you can go to bed." She pets his hair a bit, as if she's trying to smooth out some of the knots, and rubs at his round little cheek. "Besides, you'll like Tadashi."

He swats her hands away and curls into the couch, his scrawny arms crossed over his chest. "I won't," he grumbles, completely sure of himself— and Tadashi feels like he isn't supposed to be here at all, but Cass seems to take his attitude in stride, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing her purse off the end table and slinging it over her shoulder.

She mumbles a quick good-bye to Hiro before coming up to him, giving Tadashi a reassuring pat on the back. "He's always like this," she explains. "He's already had dinner and a bath, so you're just going to have to put him to bed."

Cass says some other things too— emergency numbers and things of that nature— but he can't quite remember them and before long it's just him standing right off of the living room with his bag against his hip. Hiro is still curled into the couch with his arms crossed and his eyes trained on the television, but to Tadashi, he seems quite intimidating. He may be tiny, but he is his boss' nephew. If Hiro didn't like him, he was probably going to lose his job.

He gulps at the thought, shaking his head. Carefully, he walks toward the couch, sitting his bag on the carpeted floor. Quietly, he takes a seat at Hiro's feet. The boy doesn't look at him. "Hi," he tries. Hiro grunts a little in response, shuffling away, his big brown eyes still trained on the television that's illuminating the room. He seems interested in the way the colorful dragons are moving around on the screen and Tadashi hopes that's enough of a starting point. "Umm, do you like dragons…?"

Hiro huffs, looking down at him with a little scowl, "Dwagons aren't weal."

And despite the anxiety twisting in his gut, Tadashi laughs at the way Hiro's face scrunches in annoyance, the way his two front teeth are just far enough apart to slur his words. "But do you like them? You can like them even if they aren't real, can't you?"

"No," Hiro glares at him with all the force of the four year old he is, "I don't wike dwagons and I don't wike you."

Tadashi feels his eyes crinkle as he tries not to laugh. Hiro might have the power to get him fired, but right now, he just looks like a little kid that didn't get quite what he wanted for Christmas. And it's cute in a way he doesn't really understand. "Oh," he raises an eyebrow, "what do you like then?"

The question seems to catch Hiro off guard and he stares at him for a moment, as if he's trying to figure him out. But apparently, he's not very interesting, because before long, the moment has passed and he's sulking back against the couch cushions. "I don't wike anyffing," he says smartly, turning his nose up at him.

And Tadashi really does laugh, the tension working its way out of his shoulders as he slides onto the couch like it's the most natural thing in the world. Hiro does not seem amused. "You have to like something. Everybody does."

Hiro doesn't say anything. Instead, he shuffles to the far end of the couch and brings his knees up to his chest. He huffs at him and narrows his eyes, his cute little mouth set in a pronounced pout.

It's probably the cutest thing he's ever seen.

Tadashi shifts so he can look at him a little better, his body positioned sideways on the couch with his elbow against the back of it. He catches sight of Hiro's fuzzy pajama bottoms and can't stop himself from grabbing the hem of it by the boy's ankle. There are little robots running up the leg. He smiles, "Do you like robots?"

Hiro blinks at him before pulling his leg away; Tadashi lets him. "Maybe," he scowls after some time has passed.

"Would you like to see one," he asks sweetly.

And he knows he has him with the way that Hiro's bottom lip seems to fall into his mouth, the way his almond-shaped eyes widen at him. But he's stubborn, so he crosses him arms with a grumbled, "Fine. If you want."

Shaking his head with a genuine smile stretched across his lips, Tadashi slides off the couch and positions himself in front of the coffee table, grabbing his bag and rummaging through it. He huffs when he doesn't immediately find what he wants and impatiently spills the bag's contents onto the wooden surface.

And there it is. The tiny little robot he'd built for his introductory robotics course earlier in the week. It isn't perfect or anything fancy, but it moves around with a little wind-up at its back and its feet light up when it walks— perfect for a four year old to play with.

He glances up at Hiro as he sets it upright on the table. He's still trying to pretend he's not interested with his arms at his chest and his lips set in a scowl, but his eyes are wide and he's leaning forward. And when Tadashi pulls at its back and it starts to move— Hiro's dropping off the couch and reaching for it. He stops before he can touch it, his dainty little fingers just inches away from its metal frame, his big brown eyes looking at him.

It takes Tadashi a moment to realize that he's asking him for permission to touch it, and all he can do is nod at him and watch as he plucks it from the table and starts feeling all over it. All the stubbornness is gone from his features now, his little mouth quirked to the side, his eyes going over every inch of the robot he'd made for school.

After a while, Hiro sets it back on the coffee table and settles himself on the floor. He twists his fingers in his lap and looks at him, his eyes a little nervous and unsure now. "Can you… can you show me how you buiwt it?"

Tadashi starts at the question, at the nervous tone in Hiro's voice and the way he leans a little shyly against the table. It's late already— way later than most four year olds should be awake— but the way he'd asked so sincerely makes Tadashi's heart melt a little. And a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. "Of course. Do you want to try?"

Hiro smiles and nods at him, that endearing little gap between his teeth, and Tadashi can't help but smile back, rising up on his knees so he can reach across the table. When he does, his arm rustles the spilled contents of his bag, causing them to fall off of the other side of the table and crash against the carpet. Hiro looks at them for a moment before grabbing something from the bottom of the pile. He holds it up and blinks at it. "Whaw's dis?"

Tadashi grabs the little package from between his hands, shaking it a little. "Gummy bears. They're sweet," he explains. Hiro blinks at him, his head cocking slightly to the side. "Do you want to try one?"

The little boy nods at him, all inky black hair and big brown eyes. And Tadashi ignores the fact that it's way too late to be giving children sugar and gives him one.

But one turns into two and three and four— and it isn't long before the entire bag is gone.

When Cass returns home at four in the morning, they're both still awake and the robot is mostly screws and wires in front of them. Before Tadashi can explain himself, Hiro's bounding over to her on the balls of his feet and tugging at her hand with all the excitement the four year old can muster. "Dashi and me are buiwding a wobot!"

Cass blinks down at him and then glances at Tadashi, who hasn't moved from his spot on the floor by the couch. He smiles at her sleepily, tension pulling at his shoulders because there's no way he's not getting fired now. But, to his surprise, she just smiles, grabbing Hiro with both of her hands and lifting him up a little. He squeals. "Oh? You're building a robot?"

"Uh huh uh huh— dah wobot was Dashi's but he said I couwd webuiwd it," Hiro hastily exclaimed, pulling out of her arms and running back to the coffee table. He wrapped his little arms around the older boy's back, and Tadashi could just barely smell gummy bears on his breath as he leaned over him, his round cheek pressing against his own with his narrow little chin resting on his shoulder. "Dashi's nice," he announces, looking up at his aunt like he's telling her the greatest thing in the world. "I wike Dashi."

And Cass just laughs as his heart melts into a puddle of goo.

At least he's pretty sure he's going to be keeping his job.

And there you have it. The beginnings of a babysitter-AU that literally no one asked for (but me, because I wanted a little Hiro in fuzzy robot pajama bottoms and no one else gave it to me).

This story (or series on Ao3) is going to be a practice run. It's a practice in writing present tense, dialogue, and fluff- all of which I was awful at before I stopped writing. As such, I would love to hear your thoughts on these things (and anything else you may find).

Also, as a note, the different chapters in this are going to be connected to one another, but there will be multiple years in between each update. So, there really isn't a definitive plot (I mean, there is, if you squint really, really hard, but~). As such, you can stop reading at any time and call this story complete. I say this because, while this story will stay as K+, this will eventually become a Hidashi fic (as in the ending two chapters: five and six) and I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. So, don't complain about it if it isn't yours; you've been duly warned.

Production: This story is all but complete on my computer right now (the last chapter isn't finished yet- or started, for that matter), so I will be posting every Sunday until it's complete.

Reviews are welcomed and responded to. I'd love to hear your thoughts.