Fry hated school.

He hated abstract math, he hated writing English papers, he hated running laps and playing team sports, and most of all, he hated the teachers. They were all pompous know-it-alls who talked down to him all the time, just because he didn't take to their boring lectures. They had suspended him after he skipped class one too many times. What a punishment. The principal said he'd have to repeat his senior year if he kept on like this, but Fry didn't care, and he couldn't make himself care, either. He wasn't going to college anyway, and he didn't feel like he was going to use any of the things he was learning.

"I don't need school," he'd told his mom once, on the ride home just after they had suspended him the first time, "Dad didn't finish high school, and he turned out fine!"

"Well, you're not staying at home all day, and you're not living with us forever," she had responded, narrowing her eyes at him in the rear view mirror, "If you don't finish school, we're sending you to boot camp. You're not eighteen yet."

At the time, the idea had sounded horrible, but the more he mulled it over, the more appealing it became. Later, he asked his mom if that would mean he would never have to go to school again, and she shrugged, not taking her eyes off the game on TV.

"They'll pay for it, if you do," she said, "But Fry, honey, you don't want to join the military. It's not exactly- oh, come ON, is the ref blind?" she shouted at the screen, standing up and throwing her cup down, splattering lite beer on the carpet. His father came into the room then, and they both started in on the TV, so Fry took it as his cue to leave. He resolved to quit school as soon as possible, taking comfort in the idea that he could return for free whenever he wanted to.

"Like I'd ever," he muttered to himself, grinning and reading a comic book in the quiet of his room.

On the day he turned eighteen, he went straight to the principle's office, first thing in the morning. The office was small, and nearly empty, save for one boy who was grinding his teeth and glaring out the window. Fry walked up to the receptionist and requested to speak to the principle, who was in a meeting, apparently.

"You can wait over there," she said, gesturing to the seats by the window. The boy already occupying the farthest one didn't even look up.

It was boring, just waiting. Time ticked on, and the students began to file in from the buses and congregate in the hallways, none grouping too close to the office, but some staying in sight. Eventually, the first bell rang, and they all began to clear out, one or two lagging behind and heading to the bathrooms. Fry glanced up, asking if the receptionist could call his homeroom teacher, to let them know where he was. She paused, asking to make sure that he didn't want to leave and come back when the principal was free. He shook his head.

"That would be pointless," he said, and so she called his teacher. He leaned back in his seat, eyes drifting towards the window, and the other boy who shared the space in the office with him. He hadn't moved since Fry's arrival, still staring straight out the window, not looking or speaking to anyone. Fry cleared his throat. Would it be alright to ask him why he was there? It wasn't like there was anybody else around to talk to, and all of Fry's friends were in class, or somewhere else. He had never seen this kid before, either, now that he thought about it. It wasn't a small school, though, so that wasn't entirely out of the ordinary.

"Uh, hi," he said quietly, leaning towards the seats in between them slightly. He didn't move, so Fry tried again, a little louder this time, though not by much, "Hey. Kid. My name's-" He stopped when they turned to glare at him, everything about his expression screaming for Fry to shut up. He fell quiet, leaning away.

"Whadda you want?" He hissed, and Fry, slightly encouraged, continued.

"My name's Fry," He said, extending a hand, which they glared at for a moment. Eventually, Fry lowered it, and they glared at him instead, "Uh, what's yours?"

"Call me Bender," he said, crossing his arms and saying again, "Whadda you want?"

"Oh, uh-just to talk, I guess," Fry said, a little surprised. He had never met someone so standoffish, "It's kind of boring, just waiting here in silence."

"I guess," Bender said, and paused for a moment, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk or not, "So why are you in here?"

"Well, I'm-" he paused, glancing at the receptionist. Would it be a good idea to talk about it in front of her? She might try to call his parents. He was eighteen now, but it still felt like he was a kid. He steeled himself, and said, "I'm leaving," Fry glanced over, but she had apparently not been paying attention.

"Swell," Bender said, and raised a dark eyebrow, as if to say 'anything else?'. Fry sat back in his seat.

"Uh, yeah," he paused, "Why are you here?"

"I'm starting tomorrow," he said, tone sounding bitter. He scowled, and then turned to look back at the window, "The principal is supposed to meet with me."

"Oh! Well, this isn't a bad school. I mean, it's not a great school," he rolled his eyes, "but I doubt there's such a thing as a 'great school'. I mean there's a lot of cool people here, despite how terrible it is," Bender hummed, seeming annoyed, so Fry was quiet for a while, frustrated. He'd never had too much trouble making friends- some people didn't like him, for sure, but he could usually have conversations with other people pretty easily, and his friends were pretty much the only reason Fry kept coming back to school. He tapped his fingers on his arm, trying to think of something else to say, "This is a great city, though. There's a lot to do. Maybe I could show you, after you're finished up here?"

"Whatever," Bender said, shrugging, "I've got nothing else to do."

"Nice!" Fry exclaimed, clinging to this small victory. Bender glanced over, expression less hostile than it had been, "We could go to the arcade- or the basketball courts. Do you play basketball?"

"No," Bender said, uncrossing his arms.

"Oh, it's really fun. I'll introduce you to the boys, and we can teach you!" Fry grinned, "The park's a great place to hang out, too- and I know a guy who owns this really good pizza place that's not too far from here. Wash some dishes for him, and the pizza's free!"

"Sounds like work," Bender said, unimpressed. Fry laughed.

"Yeah, it blows, but the pizza's good," Bender seemed to consider this, the corner of their mouth twitching.

"I can't make any promises, but if it's free, that sounds good to me. So where are you going, after this?"

"Huh?" Fry quirked an eyebrow, confused, "To play basketball and eat pizza, right?"

"No, no, you said you were leaving," Bender said, "You moving away, or what?"

"Oh-ooh," Fry remembered why he had come into the office this morning in the first place, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable, "Right. Well, I might be going to... military school," he trailed off awkwardly. Bender seemed surprised for a moment, then furrowed his brows.

"Why the hell do you want to join the military?" he said, a little too loudly. Fry cringed, shushing him and glancing at the receptionist, only to see that she had left the desk at some point. He relaxed, and Bender continued, "What, is it a secret?"

"I just don't want them to call my parents," Fry said, rubbing the back of his neck, "They don't know I'm going."

"To join the military," Bender said to clarify, and Fry nodded, smiling, "That's a really terrible idea."'

"What do you mean? I'm failing anyway, they said I'd have to repeat my senior year!" he glared at Bender, who started.

"You're a senior, and you're dropping out? Just finish!"

"I told you, I'll have to repeat it anyway!" He said, starting to get frustrated, "All of my friends are going to graduate and leave me behind, and then instead of being the one who left for military school, to actually do something productive and cool, I'll be the idiot who got held back!"

"Trying to graduate doesn't make you an idiot," Bender said, irritated, "Besides, I just moved here. I don't know anyone at all," he paused, glancing away from Fry, "And if we become friends, then you won't be alone when they hold you back. 'Cause I'll be a senior next year, too," Fry fell quiet, thinking about this.

"Oh," he scratched the back of his neck again, "Then, I guess we could hang out more often, too," he paused, "I just... I don't want to be held back, it's embarrassing. I'd rather just... end things now, on my own terms."

"It'll be more embarrassing when you get kicked out of military school for being a huge weenie," Bender said, and Fry shot him a glare, a rebuttal already forming on his lips. Bender was grinning, however, and Fry found it contagious.

"Whatever!" he said loudly instead, laughing, "If anything, they'd kick me out for being too awes-"

"Benjamin Rodriguez?" the receptionist, who had returned to the front desk, called, and both Bender and Fry jumped, "The principal can see you now," Bender's features slipped back into a scowl, and he stood up, walking off towards the principal's door.

"Uh-hey!" Fry called after him, and Bender stopped to glance back, "I'll still be around, when you're done!" Bender grinned, giving a quick wave.

After he disappeared into the office, Fry stood to speak to the receptionist.

"Hey, um," she glanced up, "D'you think I could just talk to my guidance counselor instead?" The receptionist smiled.

"Of course," she picked up the phone, dialing, "I'll see if she's busy now."

"So," Bender said, tossing a rock into the river, "Who's cuter, and also more likely to put out? Rhonda, or Maria?" He picked up another rock, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it out as far as he could, "In fact, scratch out the cute part. Just tell me who I can hook up with," Fry shot him an uncomfortable look, and picked up a small rock by his feet.

"I dunno," he said. It was late July, and the two of them were whittling away their summer in the city, hanging out and talking, for the most part. They had become fast friends, after that day in August, and Fry had toughed out his Senior year, making up for all the credits he was behind on. The teachers told him that he would still graduate a year late, but that was the good news. They also said he could avoid repeating his Senior year if he took summer classes, but he had decided not to take them, wanting to enjoy one more summer as a kid. At the back of his mind, he knew Bender had a lot to do with that decision too, "I don't really think about that stuff when I'm looking for a girl."

"That's why you're a loser," Bender said, picking his beer up from where he'd set it on the rocks. Fry gave him an unimpressed look, and only briefly considered throwing the rock at the back of Bender's head. No, that might be a bit much. Fry didn't want to hurt him. He tossed it up into the air, caught it, and then flung it out into the water instead as Bender went on, "You gotta get a bunch of women, and then the other ladies flock to you! They start to think you're desirable," he took a drink, letting out a long burp. Fry grimaced.

"Yeah, well that's pretty gross, Bender," He said, sitting down on one of the larger rocks. Bender joined him, bringing the case of beer over as well, "You're not gonna find a serious girlfriend like that."

"Who says I'm looking for a serious girlfriend?" Bender laughed, taking another drink. Fry felt something tighten in his chest, and when Bender offered him a beer, he took it, sighing, "I'm just having fun. You think they're not having fun?"

"I mean, I guess they must be," Fry said, disgruntled, "When you talk about it like that, though, you make it sound like... I dunno," he paused to take a drink, bouncing his leg up and down absently, "I could never sleep around like that."

"You don't have to sleep with them," Bender said, rolling his eyes. Fry watched the fading ripples from the thrown rocks, humming, "It just has to look like you're really popular."

"You're saying you're not sleeping with them?" he asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

"I'm saying you don't have to," Bender said, narrowing his eyes at Fry, who was grinning now. Bender took another drink, and they both turned to stare out at the water, falling into a comfortable silence.

"You're really not looking for a girlfriend?" Fry asked eventually, figuring that it sounded casual enough. Bender snorted.

"'Course not," he said, "Like I said, I'm having fun," Fry hummed, taking a drink, "You think I'm that eager to tie myself down to some broad?"

"No, I guess not," Fry laughed. After a moment, he went on, "and I guess I'm not either." Bender grinned, slapping him on the back.

"There ya' go, buddy, that's the spirit!"

He hopped up then and smashed his empty beer bottle on the rocks. Unable to help himself, Fry started laughing. He quickly emptied his so he could follow suit, and Bender laughed too, already starting on another beer. For a while, they amused themselves like this, until there was no more beer left in the case, and the rocks were covered in shards of brown glass. Pleasantly buzzed, Fry sat back against a rock, and Bender joined him again, sitting close enough for their shoulders to touch. They watched the sky, which was turning a deep shade of orange, and after a while, Fry found himself leaning against Bender, his head tilted to rest on his shoulder. Bender tensed briefly, but didn't say anything, didn't tell him to get off. He stayed put, grinning widely and staring at the clouds.

"This is nice," Bender said slowly after a moment, relaxing and slinging his arm over Fry's shoulders. Fry's heartbeat spiked, and he laughed, feeling almost giddy.

"Yeah, it is," he said, snaking his own arm around Bender's back. He closed his eyes, "I could fall asleep right here."

"I'm not carrying you're dumb ass home if you do," Bender said, and they both started laughing again. Eventually, their laughter died down, and even though Fry knew that he had to be home soon, he let himself relax anyway, the sound of the waves on the rocks lulling him to sleep. This was okay. This was nice.

"I'm serious," Bender said, but Fry was already asleep.

he's gonna drag fry home, leave him on the doorstep so he doesn't get in trouble, and also probably take the change out of Fry's wallet

true love~

this one doesn't really flow all that well, i feel. it seems more like two one-shots smashed into one, but. i don't know.

anyway, thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed :3