Philipp Fry looked at himself in the mirror and liked what he saw. He had just bathed /and/ put on clothes, two things that were not usually done in such a small amount of time. Nonetheless, he continued his streak of record breaking hygiene and sprayed a bit of cologne onto his next and slicked back his hair. He was ready.

He walked out the door and grabbed his black suit coat from the hanger and left to pick up his beloved. It had only been six weeks since he and Bender had overcome the weird tension and started... dating? Were they boyfriends? Fry had no idea. Their relationship was so fragile that he was afraid to do or say anything that might cause it to teeter over the edge.

Tonight was an important night that could make or break their relationship, he realized. He pulled his jacket closer around him as he walked in the bitter cold up to the doors of Robot Arms Apartments. He had never envisioned himself as the kind of man to give his jacket to his lover until he had truly fallen in love. He was suddenly very selfishly glad that his boyfriend was a robot and therefore would never need such a thing.

The stairs to Bender's apartment were poorly lit and Fry often found himself looking over his shoulder at passersby in case one of them tried to murder him, but he had always ended up fine.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he knocked on Bender's door. He could feel his heart thumping inside his chest as he thought about what he had to say tonight. He had to tell Bender that he loved him. He only hoped that it wouldn't harm their relationship, Fry wanted to believe that telling Bender that he loved him would send their relationship to a new, higher level. As of late, watching other couples do romantic things had made him sad. Seeing people walking down the street holding hands, kissing in the rain, and even getting married (all of them on the television) had made him sad and he was convinced that he was ready to have those things for himself.

He knocked three more times and the door swung open. Bender blew a puff of smoke from his cigar into his face. He was holding a beer and smelled like burnt oil. "Fry, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, uh..." Fry scratched his head. "We're going to dinner tonight, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Bender said. His scratchy, deep voice sent shivers up Fry's spine. Bender stepped out and slammed the door behind him. "Where are we goin'?"

"I was thinking pizza?" Fry questioned.

"I could go for pizza. And hookers. You know what? Let's forget pizza and get the hookers instead."

"Nah, I think that I would rather just get the pizza."

"Fine!" Bender said. He crossed his arms over his chest and followed Fry down the stairs. Fry could feel himself starting to sweat profusely. /I love you I love you I love you I love you/, he thought. He had the entire scene planned out in his head. They'd be sitting in the pizza restaurant with a plate of bread sticks when Fry would drop the news.

They walked down the street in the cold. "Do you think that it's going to snow?" Fry asked.

"Hell if I know," Bender said, taking a long drag on his cigar. Fry looked at the ground as he walked and reminded himself to count the reasons that he loved this shiny metal trash can.

They walked in silence for a few moments when Fry decided to take a baby step- he reached out and grabbed Bender's hand. He interwove their fingers. Bender pulled his arm away from Fry and kept walking, but Fry stopped. "Bender!" Fry exclaimed. He was disappointed in Bender.

"I don't want to hold hands with you!" Bender shouted, waving his cigar around in the air.

"Why not?" Fry asked.

"I don't know! I just don't! Why are you so mad, anyways?"

"Because I love you," Fry's voice cracked and he could feel his eyes start to water. Bender put his arms down at his side. "I love you and I wish that you loved me too. I just need to know," tears were gushing from his face now. "I just need to know if you love me too. I can't keep this one sided forever."

Bender took a step back. "You know that I don't want a relationship, Fry."

Fry crossed his arms. "I don't think that I can be your friend anymore."

"Come on, Fry. Just get over it. Let's get some beer!" Bender clapped him on the back.

"No," Fry said. "It's over. All of it."

"Fine," Bender said. "I'm going to get something to drink." The robot stomped away without looking back while Fry just stood there, alone on the sidewalk. All wounds took time to heal, but he was sure that this one wouldn't.