Painful Memories (Father!Tadashi x Child!Reader)

AU: In this universe, Tadashi was merely injured in the fire and survived to meet a beautiful woman. The reader is the son/daughter of Tadashi Hamada and a child in second or third grade.

A/N: The readers gender is not specified


The night was already growing dark by the time your father was tucking you into bed. He reached to turn off your bedside lamp but you grabbed for his arm, stopping him.

“Daddy.” Your small hands tugged on the sleeve of your father’s shirt. You could see his face grow into the loving smile you loved as sat beside you and cupped your hand in his.

“What is it, (y/n)?”

“I want to know what mom was like.”

You had been wondering about your mother for as long as you could remember but had grown increasingly curious within the last few weeks. After seeing how all your friends interacted with their mothers, your chest had been filled with longing. You had never gotten to meet your mother and all you had ever gotten out of your father was that she left this world soon after you were born.

He seemed taken aback by your statement and for a brief second, you could see his smile falter.

“I don’t think that’s something we should talk about right now. All you need to know is that she was a great woman. You need to get some sleep now. Goodnight (y/n). I love you.” With that, he let go of your hand, turned out the lamp and left your room.

As he closed the door, you could see that the hallway light sparkled off of the tears in his eyes. In the darkness, you kept replaying his reaction in your mind as well as his face while leaving the room. You couldn’t help but wonder, why he didn’t want to talk about your mother?

~oOo~

The next day you were to visit your uncle Hiro. He insisted that you were simply to call him Hiro and often times, he was more of an older brother and friend than an uncle. Because of that, you were always overjoyed when you got to see him.

Today, Tadashi had to work so he dropped you off. Once inside, Hiro took you into his living room where pieces of his latest project were strewn across the table. You always enjoyed seeing what he was working on and had begun to learn how to make small robotic things of your own, a skill your father and Hiro were quite proud of.

“Why doesn’t dad ever talk about my mom?” Your question seemed to stop Hiro in his tracks. He turned to you with a half-smile and placed his hand on your shoulder.

“He just misses her a lot. It was hard for him when she passed away.”

“I heard at school that if you’re sad, it helps to talk about it. If that’s true, he could tell me about her instead of avoiding it.”

“That’s true but sometimes people need time before they brave enough to talk things. Enough about that though. Wanna see what that does?” Hiro asked pointing at the table. You nodded enthusiastically, no longer thinking of your parents.

~oOo~

After a long day of watching movies and having a fun time with Hiro (and Baymax when he was done charging) you were tired and ready to go home. Your eyelids felt droopy and you soon fell asleep on the couch.

You awoke in the dark living room to the sound of two voices in the hall.

“You should tell (y/n) about (his/her) mother.” You could tell the voice was Hiro. There was a brief moment of silence before he continued. “(Y/n) deserves to know something. You can’t just keep avoiding the issue. Even (y/n) said that if you feel sad about something, it helps to talk about it. Are you going to ignore your own daughter?”

“I don’t know. I miss her so much.”

“Will you at least think about what I said? I could always call the others like Wasabi or Go-Go. I know they’d be able to talk some sense into you.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I’ll think about what you said. For now though, it’s late. I should be getting (y/n) home.”

Footsteps approached the living room and you saw the silhouettes of the two men appear. They entered the room and Tadashi went to your side.

“(Y/n),” he whispered, “It’s time to go home.”

~oOo~

Weeks passed after that night with no mention of your mother. You wanted to know about her, to have some connection to her, but you also didn’t want to push Tadashi. He’d be ready to talk when he was ready.

You were in your room playing a bot fight video game when there was a knock on your door. Pausing the game moments from your victory, you told the knocker to come in. Your father slowly walked in and sat on the edge of your bed. He patted the bed beside him and you moved to occupy the space.

“I think it’s time I told you more about your mother.” Your heart raced and you were overjoyed. Nodding you moved closer. Your father took a deep breath before continuing.

“I remember the first time I met her as if it were yesterday. She was sitting on a bench at SFIT. Her hair shone in the sun and she had on a blue summer dress. I had never seen anyone so beautiful. I went up to her and asked if I could sit with her and eat lunch. She smiled and agreed to let me sit.

“After talking with her, I discovered she had just transferred and would be attending many of the same classes as myself. I helped her to her classes and we became close friends. After that, the more time we spent together, the closer we became.

“We often went on picnics where she would stare at the sky and point out all of the shapes she could see in the clouds. The smile she would give me when we were together made me so happy.

“I also remember the day you were born. She got to see you and hold you once before…” Tears had started to form in the corners of his eyes at this point. “In those moments, she didn’t care whether she lived or died. She was happy you were alive and that’s all that mattered to her.”

His tears began to cascade down his face. You weren’t sure what to do and had begun to tear up yourself. Your dad never cried and believed in remaining strong for everyone around him. You placed your hand in his and leaned against him.

“Don’t cry daddy. I heard that when good people die, they go to the sky. I know mom is looking over us.” Tadashi used his free hand to wipe the tears from his eyes and his face grew into a sad smile.

“I’m sure she is. And I know she is very proud of you.” You grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

“I love you daddy. Thanks for telling me about mom.”

“I love you too, (y/n).”

-END-