Baxmax was taking his time getting back to the dorms, partly because he was checking over his shoulder every few steps to make sure nothing dark and sinister was following him, and partly because his socks were still in hand so he could feel the grass under his feet. Touch was amazing as far as the senses went. So very different from a digital understanding of pressure and texture and temperature. This wasn’t a series of numbers or charts, this was actual sensation and his limbs shivered at the lightest touches, breaking out in gooseflesh that made the hairs on his arms even more sensitive.
He did learn that walking barefoot had disadvantages. A sharp rock met his pinky toe, and Baymax was surprised to hear himself let out a distinct “Ow!” His ears perked in response, but there was no one to offer aid to - it was only himself that had said ow. And his foot hurt.
He looked at the foot, frowning, and poked the offending toe with a finger. Air hissed between his teeth. “On a scale from one to ten, I would rate this pain as a four,” he said to himself. He took an experimental step, and discovered that if he stepped with the heel of his foot, the toe didn’t hurt.
So thus, he limped his way to the dorms. When he saw the blonde woman that had called herself Sydney, Baymax brightened, and quickened his pace. He was so relieved to find someone safe that he unthinkingly opened his arms and crashed into the woman, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Sydney! Thank you! I am Baymax!”
Sydney had been somewhat anxiously waiting for Baymax to get to the main part of the dorms. It was one thing that Derleth was doing it’s seemingly usual fuckery, but another entirely that some people had their memories and others thought they were some else. From a different Derleth. Where vampires, werewolves, and hunters all existed in the same place, but not peacefully.
That was a recipe for disaster no matter how Syd looked at it.
When she heard the front doors open, she looked up from her phone (because she was more or less actively checking the network and keeping in touch with Julia) and waved him over. She hadn’t been anticipating the hug though and just before his arms wrapped around her, she felt herself instinctively bracing for the inevitable and going “no, no! Don’t touch m-!” out of habit.
But it was too late and she cringed, wincing even as she waited for the feeling of her consciousness going into his body and vice versa, something that would cause them both to fall backward out of momentary weakness. Except. That didn’t happen and after a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked around. She was still… herself?
“What?” she murmured to herself, blinking, confused. “Wait, hold on, how are you touching me?”
Baymax’s smile slipped in confusion at her question, and he loosened his grip slightly, looking down at her and his arms. “I am sorry. Am I not doing it right?” He adjusted his embrace slightly so that it felt more comfortable, and hugged again. “Is that better?”
Of course, none of this was how she expected it to go and when he simply adjusted how he was hugging her, something more gentle but still comforting, she started to feel herself relax. And then realize – she didn’t have her powers. She was fully human right now. Her eyes almost instantly welled with tears and her arms went around his neck, hugging herself to him tightly. Because she could. “No, you’re definitely doing it right,” she replied quietly a few seconds later and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Sorry, I – uh.” She sniffled and laughed to herself, embarrassed by her emotions as she eventually took a step back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t really get to hug people. Like. Ever.”
Baymax didn’t mind in the slightest when she started to tear up, or when she hugged him back. He was enjoying the fel of the hug - a real hug. For the first time, he wondered how it felt to hug a warm marshmallow, as Fred had once called him. This embrace was soft and warm and comforting and safe.
When she pulled back, he straightened, looking back at her with an open and easy expression. “Physical reassurance is important for emotional health. You can hug me whenever you want. I do not know how long I will be in a human body, but when I am in my robot form, I have a huggable vinyl body and have been called a marshmallow many times.”
He looked down at his feet, still bare, and lifted the injured one. There was a small trickle of blood on the pinky toe. “I damaged my toe. I do not have any of my microsprays or medications. Do you know where I might find a bandage?”
“Well, unfortunately physical reassurance isn’t something I can have normally. I, uh – I’m a mutant, you know? And I can’t… have skin-to-skin contact without it being a problem, so I just…” Sydney shrugged a little and glanced down when he looked to his feet.
“Yeah. There should be a first aid kit nearby, but who even knows if things are the same on this version of the campus.” She instinctively tucked her hands into the pockets of the hideous jacket she was stuck in and nodded her head back toward the entrance. “At the very least, the clinic should still be the same? Maybe? I hope.” Otherwise they were bound to be in for a long week.
Baymax nodded, glancing at the entrance. “We should check. I will need supplies if anyone gets hurt.”
He looked back at her. “When I am in my normal body, I do not have skin. I am a robot. I can still give you hugs and physical reassurance. You will not harm me.” A smile came to his face. “I have been told I am very huggable.”
“Well, I look forward to being able to test that theory, though it’s nice that you’re human right now.” Even if you are incredibly susceptible to injury. “This place is really weird, but sometimes it can offer up good things for a change, I guess.” That made her giggle a little to herself, but she turned to head toward the direction she’d come. “Let’s go raid the clinic and see what’s there. We need to be careful though, okay? I don’t know who’s out there that won’t try and hurt us.”
Baymax was bouncing on his heels with every step, and only a little of the motion was due to the cut on his foot. "Yes. Careful. Does grass always feel this nice?"
He watched every light as they walked across the campus, eyes gleaming wistfully. He was distracted by everything, the change of ground under his feet, the light wind ruffling his hair, even the way his fingers felt on his clothing. Finding the weapons strapped under his flannel shirt, he made a face and took one, holding it with two fingers as though it’s very presence was abhorrent, he offered it to Sydney. “I do not like weapons. It is against my programming to harm another.”
Syd couldn’t help but glance down at his question. Did grass always feel that nice? She frowned a little. “I honestly don’t know if grass always feels that nice. I don’t think I’ve actually been barefoot on grass since I was little.” It seemed like one of those things that you just tended to grow out of doing eventually. “I tend to avoid touching things with my skin if I can help it, you know?”
But it was endearing to watch Baymax soak up his new experiences while he could. It almost made her not want to take for granted the fact that she could actually touch people right now, but that also just seemed like a weird thing to do. Her thoughts were derailed briefly though when he offered her the gun, worry knitting her eyebrows together slightly. “No problem, you don’t have to use them,” she said, reaching over to gently take it from him. Of course, she made sure the safety was on before tucking the weapon away.
“Come on, let’s just get you to the clinic and then worry about everything else later, right? One thing at a time. And then maybe we can find you a lollipop somewhere because I’m sure you’re going to be the perfect patient.”