Bender x Reader - Futurama

Chapter 83: Late Night

A/N from Rosa

SURPRISE, AN UPDATE! I know I've been gone for months, and you are in no position to forgive me but... I think I'm finally going to update this book more. 

I will try my best to get WEEKLY UPDATES!!! I hope to stick with my schedule. Thank you for all the warm wishes and everything. I love you all more than I can say <3

~Rosa out!!

(P.S. If you were early, you would've seen my "truth or dare reprise," but I decided I wanted to start to end this book.) I have plenty of plans for new books, don't you worry! I will be back and writing as soon as possible! Thank you again so so much <3

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It was like any old night. You were busy scrubbing off the dirt and grime from the dirty dishes. You had put together yet another of your fantastic meals. It had become habit now for you to cook for the team. Team. It was a wonderful word, and it was even more wonderful that you could be a part of it.

"Closing up for the n-," Leela walked in, about to turn off the light until she saw you.
"Hey Leela. I'm just cleaning up these dishes," you said, looking over your shoulder, continuing your work.
"Alright. You sure you want cleanup duty tonight? Amazing meal, by the way."
"Ah, thank you!" Wrapped underneath your shirt, your cat tail waved happily. "And it's no problem, I'm happy to clean up."
"Gotcha. Don't stay too long, though," Leela reminded you, then left. As she did, she turned off some of the hallway lights to conserve energy, so the whole place was now dimly lit.

Your strengthened cat hearing heard voices in the other room. It sounded a bit like Dr. Farnsworth.

"... yes... it took a bit of time... this should work for your needs ... good luck!"

You felt bad for eavesdropping so you kept your head down and stopped listening. Concentrating on the sound of the dishwater drowned out the voices. You worked yourself into a rhythm.

Suddenly, you were snapped out of your rhythm by a familiar scent. Bender. In a slight panic, you scrunched up your eyes and retracted your ears and tail as quickly as you could. You were about start your work when you noticed your robotic arm was still exposed. You inhaled quickly and pulled down your sleeve, concealing your right arm as best you could. Sighing, you finished drying the last plate just as a you heard metallic feet stop at the doorway.

Your ears were on full alert, the tension in your body rising.

"Hey there, (Y/N)," Bender said from behind you.

The tension lessened significantly. Wiping your hands on a hand towel, you turned to face him.

"Hey," you greeted him, pushing a strand of hair behind you ear.

He leaned on the doorframe, overly casual. "Do ya got a moment?" he said, not in his normal tone. He sounded sheepish about something.

"Yeah, sure!" You back leaned on the counter, folding your arms. "What's up?" You raised an eyebrow. "Did Fry win a bet with you again?"

Bender stood up straight and took a few steps towards you. "No, that's not it-"
"Or perhaps there is some trap I'm supposed to fall into or something..."
"(Y/N) pleas-"

You grew more cocky, the tension causing an adrenaline rush. "Oh, I know! Your gambling went bad and you want to borrow some money from m-"
Bender marched over and grabbed your wrists, causing you to stop talking. "(Y/N)! It's... serious."

You were shocked for a moment before you sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine..." he cautiously released your wrists.
"What's wrong?" You said after a pause, looking up at him somewhat shyly.
He looked down, his panel beginning to redden in color. He shuffled his feet. "You know that... I love you... right?"

You nodded, smiling as your own cheeks reddened slightly.

"Well... you seem to have an effect on me..."
"You have the same on me-" You said shyly.
"No, you don't get it. You seem to be literally effecting me. Like, my internal workings..." he said hesitantly, looking up at you.
"Wait... what?" You frowned.
"You know how Bending units see, right?"
"Yup. Isn't it just a green outline and a black background, with some occasional notes and calculations about various people?"

"Yeah... but recently..." he scratched the back of his head. "I've been able to see flashes of... color."

You stared at him, jaw agape. "H-How is that even possible?!"

"I don't know! I really don't know. Sometimes, my screen flashes from black and green to white with grey shadows... It's really strange..."

You couldn't even begin to fathom how you had something to do with all this.

"But... I did get some information from the doc."
You fiddled with your hands. "I'm listening."

"Remember how he used to work for Mom? Apparently, he had a hand in designing me a while back. He added some secret... 'unlockable' coding when I fall in love with someone."

"No offense, but doesn't that happen a lot?" You pointed out.

"Yeah well, I'm not disagreeing with you but... you're different. I've gone through robot hell and back with you (almost literally) and..." he sighed. "Look, imma be straight with you. Usually I just lust after women who I think are beautiful or whatever. But you're not like that. Not to say you aren't pretty or anything but, it's just different. Criticize me all you want, but I've never truly loved someone for their inside. Terrible, isn't it?" He looked up at your bitterly.

"No, it's okay," you placed a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't even know what love was like... until I met you," you admitted, your cheeks turning pink.

"Neither did I," Bender's chest panel flared up. But quickly snapped out of it, switching back to his more gruff self.

"Sap fest! Anyway... apparently Farnsworth called this the 'True Love switch' or some cheesy name like that," Bender rolled his eyes. "It's supposed to change me or something? I'm not sure, and the doc doesn't remember what he made it do. But apparently it's supposed to hold some pretty big changes."

"Wow... that's a lot to take in," you said thoughtfully, hopping onto the counter.
"(Y/N)... you know I don't trust anyone more than you, right?"
"Why?" You tilted your head. "What about Fry? Isn't he your best friend?"
"Of course. But I wouldn't trust him with figuring out stuff about my internal workings, or anythin'."

You smiled at the thought of being Bender's most trusted friend. "You know, if you want me to look at your paneling, I'm sure I can figure out this whole 'color' thing."

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

You chuckled, shyly pushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear again. "Of course! Now would be a perfect time, actually."

"Don't you have to sleep?"

"Cats aren't exactly nocturnal, but we're more active at night," you explained. 

"Alright, let's get you sorted out, shall we?"