Hiro was sitting on the brick hard cushion of the small dining table. The dark interior of the cabin gave an eerie light to their overnight getaway, casting shadows across the walls and forming monstrous designs. Everything inside the boat smelled like leather freshly cleaned with orange-scented armor all. He wrinkled his nose as he tore open the bag of gummy worms that he'd bought. As the boat rocked against the dock, Hiro listened to the sound of the water sloshing against the side. The cabin was cramped, but it wasn't entirely unbearable. Hiro didn't require much space, himself, just a small area to set his backpack down and a place to let Baymax's charging case lean. He meticulously picked out the red and blue gummy candies, eyes flicking up now and then to the rear of the small cabin. Baymax was standing in the far corner, systems whirring as he ran scans.

Lying on the small,square bed was Bucky. It had taken him some effort to get the man into the boat and onto the bed, but he'd done the best he could without being seen. Now, as the hour grew late and the sky grew dark,Hiro had nothing else to do but wait until his companion woke up. He chewed on one of the candies, taking a glance behind him at his companion. Bucky was probably going to be hungry when he woke up.

"Baymax," he said, moving to stand up, a gummy worm hanging from between his teeth, "I'm gonna go get something for him to eat before the Pier closes down. Think you can handle things here?"

Baymax's head turned towards Hiro, black optics blinking slowly. He then nodded and looked back to Bucky, running another scan. "His vitals are showing signs of stability. I predict he will be awake in less than an hour."

"Then I better get moving," Hiro said, reaching into his backpack. He slipped the small device to hook around his ear, letting his hair fall over it to conceal its curved blinking. "Call me if anything happens, okay?"Baymax nodded silently and looked back at Bucky.

"Be careful, Hiro.I will be here if you need anything." Hiro nodded and reached over onto the small kitchenette counter for his hat. He set it atop his crow's nest of hair and made his way out onto the dock. He gave one last look into the boat before he landed as softly as he could on the adjacent dock, using the rocking of the ship to aid his jump from the bow. He looked up at the Pier, watching the dazzling lights combat with the twinkling stars hidden behind the faint glow. He made his way up the ramp and carefully shimmied his body between the area of the fence he'd cut open on his way down, making sure the chain-links met evenly to give the illusion of being unharmed.

He weaved through the crowd, feeling at ease without Bucky beside him. He wasn't exactly sure if he was wanted yet or not, but he took no chances. He adjusted the hat on his head, brows set over his eyes as he made his way up the wooden steps. The smell of sweets begged to distract him,but he was focused on getting a proper meal for dinner and maybe a few of those deep fried doughnuts. Hiro made his way towards one of the restaurants, noticing that their closing time was in less than twenty minutes. He ordered two bread bowls, standing in their lobby and staring at the screen of the TV. The news was busy plastering the Avengers across the scene. He crossed his arms, squinting at the detailed text sliding along the bottom.

Well,at least the threat was over, done with and gone. Sokovia was damaged, almost flattened to nothing, if not for the assisted efforts of the Avengers. Hiro sighed, rocking back on his heels. He vaguely wondered what it would be like to stand there with them; to help thousands of people all at once as part of a team. He knew what it was like to work with a team and save a city, potentially the world,but never on such a wide scale. Who didn't want to work with Captain America and Iron Man? Who didn't want to stand alongside Hawkeye and pummel people with the Hulk? Hiro's brows furrowed as he wrinkled his nose in thought.

"Sir?"

Hiro turned and faced the counter. The woman was holding a bag with the bread bowls. He slammed down some money and grabbed the bag, taking off quickly to avoid any more thoughts. Before making his way to the boat, he stopped at one other window, fumbling in the ice crate, handpicking purple spheres. Paying for the plums, he immediately made his way down to the docks and successfully entered the boat once again.

"Hiro."

Hiro paused, bags slung on his thin arms. He blinked, surprised by being greeted by the voice that wasn't Baymax.

"Bucky.You're up." He set the bags on the small counter and gave a slight smile. "I brought some dinner. Thought you might be hungry." He looked over at the older man, noticing his troubled expression. He pulled up the small bag of plums and walked over, dangling it in front of the man.

"What are these," Bucky asked, reaching up to grab the bag. Hiro shrugged.

"Plums.I read somewhere that they can help with your memory. Maybe they'll help with yours," Hiro said, looking over at Baymax. The bot was waddling around the room, scanning various items and then the food he had noticed.

"I'm satisfied with my care," Hiro said softly, "Get recharged, bud. "He watched Baymax nod and waddle to his charging station instead. In truth, Hiro wanted to sit down and talk to Bucky- to get to the truth. There was something strange about the way everything was aligning and he feared that, come morning, his Aunt's cafe would be infested with agents.

He pulled the bread bowls out and set them down on the table, motioning for Bucky to join him. The man was studying the plums and immediately rose, walking to the table with an interested gaze. Chowder cupped in bread wafted into the air and Bucky found that he preferred this combination better than anything else he'd smelled on the Pier.

"How long have I been out," Bucky asked quietly, sitting down on one of the hard cushions. Hiro shrugged, opening his bread bowl top.

"A few hours. You collapsed back on the docks and I really had no idea what to do. Baymax told me that you had a really bad memory lapse or something. You were muttering about knowing some guy." He glanced up, wide brown eyes filled with curiosity. "What's going on with you? I think I've risked enough to get some answers."

Bucky paused, looking over at the teen. Hiro was smart, a lot smarter than he was giving credit for. He knew that he could only hide the truth for so long and, despite him keeping most of his secrets, Hiro was prying them open one by one.

"Hydra is looking for me," Bucky began, stirring the soup with a spoon, "I don't want to go back."

"No, we're not letting you go back," Hiro grumbled, "But, what's so special about you? I mean, that came out wrong." He frowned, taking a bite of his bread. "Why do they want you so bad?"

Bucky's silence made Hiro shift in his spot. He tried to push for answers in a different way; a more understanding way.

"I know what it's like," he said, looking down at the table, "To do really horrible things. But, when I did those things, I had control and I got to choose. I stopped myself, yeah, but it wasn't easy. I toed a fine line between a hero and a villain. You can't really have one without the other. So, when I'm asking why they want you back,it's not because I'm gonna throw this soup in your face and punch you and give you to them. It's because I wanna to know what I'm up against. I wanna know just who I'm gonna fight when I have to help you get out of San Fransokyo."

Bucky was quiet. How intelligent for a child, but Hiro was not an ordinary child. He wanted to ask what Hiro had gone through. He wanted to know just what Hiro was capable of and what he did to get to where he was. Yet, all he could do was stare as his soup cooled down, steam slowing to a dim curl.

"I killed a lot of people," he admitted, "I didn't want to, but it was like I couldn't stop myself from doing what I did. I was fighting that guy- Captain America. I recognized him. I know it sounds strange, but I recognized him. And even in the end, when I had a chance to leave him to drown in the water, I didn't. I reached down and I saved him and I don't know why. Something about it just seemed... wrong. After that, I.. I ran. I started hiding myself away and I did my best to stay off the radar. They made me kill a lot of people, Hiro. I don't do that anymore."

It was something in the way he spoke that caught Hiro's attention. It wasn't innocence, but it was something akin to empathy; he knew where Bucky was coming from and he decided to reel back his curiosity just this once.

"Well, good," he said, smiling, "Otherwise, we'd have a problem."

"What about you?"

Hiro glanced up with a puzzled expression. "What?"

"What about you? How'd you get into hero business,"Bucky asked, chuckling after he spoke. It was amusing to think that a fifteen year old would suddenly rearrange his life to become a hero,but the idea didn't seem too far fetched. In fact, Bucky thought it sounded familiar. He tilted his head, long hair shuffling along his cheek. "Most fifteen year old kids are obsessed with, I don't know. Whatever today's technology gives you."

"Well, I've always wanted to be a fighter," he said, laughing a little,"But, it was more bot fighting. I used to sneak out and design these robots, you know? Used to bet on fights and win 'em, too. I really had my heart set on this career in bot fighting. Kinda stupid,really."

He took another bite of his soup and started tearing the bread, as if he was nervous.

"My brother, Tadashi. He hated my bot fighting. He wanted something more out of me, so he swindled me into wanting to go to his college. I admit-"

"College?Aren't you too young?"

"I graduated high school when I was thirteen. Keep up," Hiro said,laughing, "Anyway, I wanted to go to college. I guess, sometimes,I'm really mad that I wanted that." He propped his cheek on his hand. "See, there was this expo and a fire..." He frowned and looked away from Bucky, towards Baymax's charging station. "Tadashi tried to be a hero; tried to save someone. And he died."

Bucky took a deep breath and settled his gaze on Hiro in a more empathetic light.

"I almost killed someone for it, too," Hiro said, looking up at Bucky, "I almost made Baymax kill the person who killed Tadashi. I didn't realize that we shared the same pain; the same desire to destroy everything. After that, I started getting really involved in becoming a hero, keeping my team going. But, eventually, my friends all scattered and I ended up alone with Baymax. Still, I get involved-that's how I met you. So, I guess we're sort of both running from something."

"What a pair," Bucky commented, chewing on some bread, "You're a good kid, Hiro."

"Not so bad yourself, Bucky."

* * * * * * * * *

"So, what's your plan for getting out of the city?"

Hiro paused by the mo-ped, one hand resting on the handle. Shortly after their talk, the two had fallen asleep and woken early in the morning.With only a few sweet treats as breakfast, the two had arrived at the mo-ped with the intent of ending the life of relocation.

"I think that we should head back to the cafe to get you some supplies and then we can get you a car or something." Hiro looked over at Bucky with a slight smile. "You know, it's kinda weird, but I think I'm actually gonna miss carting you around the city." Bucky cracked a weak smile, climbing onto the mo-ped. Hiro jumped on behind him,backpack and red case swinging on his back.

"Yeah. I don't think I'm gonna forget you," Bucky said, starting the vehicle up.

The ride down the street was smooth. Hiro gripped the sides of his seat,holding on as they rounded a corner and began climbing a hill. The streets of San Fransokyo were just as steep as the ones prior to the earthquake, though they had been recreated wider. He leaned forward, pointing ahead.

"Hey, Bucky. Take a right up at the top. We can take a side street to come up alongside the cafe. Remember, the place is bugged." Bucky continued to climb the incline and nodded, leaning back with the sensation of gravity pushing him.

He heard the whistling too late. Bucky yanked the handlebars and narrowly avoided the explosion to the right of them, parked vehicle breaking apart in a burst of flames. Hiro grabbed the back of Bucky's sweatshirt, yelping as the hot rush of wind sent cinders dancing across his face. He clenched his eyes shut, inhaling the taste of smoke and coughing out the fear. Panic seeped into his bloodstream and he tried to force down the urge to take in gulps of air. His lungs were screaming, his eyes were watering, and his fingers clenched the material of Bucky's shirt tightly. He looked up, trying to find the source as Bucky stabilized the mo-ped. He saw the black helicopter, noticed the size of the RPG, and his eyes widened.

"Bucky-!"

Hiro's voice elevated as he cried out in pain. A black sphere was lodged in his shoulder, jagged metal edges digging into the skin under his shirt. The light in the center was blue and, in an instant, Hiro felt the immense pain of a shock. Blue sparks danced along his skin and his eyes widened, a choked sound of agony leaving his lips. His hands released Bucky as he tried to tug the tazer off, only to feel a stronger, more jarring shock. What felt like ten minutes of pain was only three seconds. Hiro jerked away from the mo-ped as another explosion rocked the street, Bucky spinning out of control.

Before he could hit the pavement, Hiro felt something grab onto his arm and hoist him up. Another jolt seized his body and Hiro choked on any words he might have spoken. Another wave of heat and suddenly two arms grabbed onto him as the impact of the pavement welcomed them.Bucky rolled down the steep street, the teen trapped in his arms.When they came to a stop, he flipped the teen over and shook his shoulders.

"Hiro. Hiro?" He used his metal hand to grasp the tazer and threw it aside, holding onto both arms to keep the boy's body still. A red trail trickled down from Hiro's nose, eyes incredibly unfocused and dilated.

"Well, if you can hear me, kid, we're getting' outta here. So hang on."

In the cover of the smoke, he got to his feet and ran, but not before grabbing the red case that was rolling down the pavement. With Hiro tucked under one arm and the red case slung over his shoulder, Bucky ran into a side alley, trying to gain as much distance between himself and the Hydra agents quickly swarming the city streets.