Fry's Dilemma

December 20th, 3004

It was that time of year again. The people of New New York were lighting up the buildings with assorted strings of colorful lights, while barricading themselves from the once-a-year threat that is Robot Santa. Every year, it was the same. The maniac robot, whose evil operations are the result of faulty judgment, carries out a reign of destruction that costs the people of Earth an astronomical amount of money, money which could have been used for some other useful purpose. For one person though, the holiday of Xmas (once called Christmas) was once remembered as a day of joy and comfort, as well as a time to just sit around and enjoy the presence of his own family members. But that was over a thousand years ago. Most of his family had since become ancient and forgotten history.

Phillip J. Fry stood near one of the windows of his apartment and watched as snow started to fall from the cold gray sky. Hover cars were seen speeding through the air as the evening rush hour started to kick in and people everywhere were rushing to finish their holiday shopping. In the five years he has spent in the thirty-first century, Fry always found himself referring back to The Jetsons every time he saw the complicated skyline of the city. It was a far cry from the life he unwittingly left behind, yet he enjoyed every single moment of it, especially with the company of his coworkers at Planet Express. He had been to places which others from his time would only dream of travelling to and places that would defy their imagination. However, ever since the time he and Leela and Bender attempted to undermine Robot Santa and his evil operations at Neptune, Xmas had become a day of remorse. It only reminded him of all the things that made him weak and sad. Of the many things that depressed Fry, Xmas made him think of Leela and all of the horrible things that happened in her life. But what troubled him the most were the numerous attempts he made to start a meaningful relationship with the beautiful one-eyed woman. Even though Fry presented himself as a joyful and carefree guy in front of everyone else, he knew that deep down inside, he was all alone and that Leela was all alone too. Yet, in spite of these circumstances, Fry still could not seem to get through to her, even after all of the danger that they have encountered across the universe and all of the trouble they went in saving each other's lives. Come to think of it, it had been a while since the professor sent them on a dangerous deliver session. All he wanted to do was make Leela happy. In doing so, Fry knew that it would make himself happy as well.

Still, even though Fry's wishes were strong and meaningful, there did not seem to be any possibility that any of them would come true. As far as he was concerned, his attempts to form a relationship with Leela were all lost causes. He almost wished that his ex-girlfriend from 1999 would give him another chance. But Fry hated Michelle, especially since he found out about her affair with another guy that began right after she left him during the minutes before the coming of the year 2000 (though it was in the year 3000 when he discovered this secret). Although he had gotten lucky a few times in the past five years, Leela was the only woman that Fry had and ever would have deep feelings for.

After shedding a couple of tears, Fry went over to his mini fridge and grabbed a beer to drown his sorrows. Never before had he felt so appreciated, yet out of place at the same time. A few minutes passed before he finally decided to fall asleep and gear himself for another day at Planet Express. Bender would be back anytime to brag about his double date with two fembots and he was certainly not in any mood to listen to any of it, especially after what happened last time when the alcohol-guzzling robot burned him with his cigar multiple times in his left arm. But then again, it was normal for Bender to commit acts of harm toward those who were closest to him.

It was just when Fry was just climbing into bed when Bender suddenly walked in the door with a cigar in his mouth. The robot was quick to notice Fry slumping on the bed and immediately went over to greet him. Fry glanced up from his slouching position and gave a slight smile, then went back to slouching.

"I don't know if you're in the mood, but I'm happy to say that everything went fantastic tonight!" Bender said in his jovial tone. "You know what I mean?"

"I'm not in the mood right now." Fry replied. "Just leave me alone."

"What's the matter, Fry?" Bender asked. "Are you hungry or something."

"No, Bender." Fry said. "I'm just feeling a little sad right now. That's all."

"It's about Leela isn't it?" Bender asked. "I know how you feel."

"No you don't. You're a robot!" Fry yelled.

"Yeah, a robot with artificial intelligence and emotions!" Bender replied. "Listen, Fry. You've been acting like this for two and half weeks. Is there something else that's bothering you?"

"Well…yeah." Fry said.

"Well…what is it?" Bender asked. Fry sighed.

"It's about Xmas. I really wish that there was something we could do to make the holidays the way I remember them. But every pine tree on Earth is gone and Santa is a robot that judges everyone naughty and tries to blow everyone's heads off! I just hate hiding out on the holidays and I wish there was a place where Robot Santa doesn't try killing anyone. But the worst part is that there's nothing we can do to change that."

"Now here's the difference between you and me." Bender said as he blew the smoke from his cigar into Fry's face. "I actually envy Robot Santa, because not only does he gets to kill as many humans as he wants, he also gets away with doing everything else. Whenever I try doing that stuff, I always end getting caught by the cops! If you ask me, I think that's discrimination!"

Fry laughed at Bender's reply, after which the robot slapped him across the face and yelled "Shut up, meat bag!" It was one of his signature come-backs, so Fry did take any offense to it.

"I know what will make both of us feel better." Bender said as he opened his front compartment. He took out two bottles of beer and handed one of them to Fry, but he declined the offer.

"Thanks, but I just had one before you came in through the door." Fry said. "Besides, it's getting late and the professor wants us to help with the Xmas decorations…ugh…"

"Come on, Fry. One drink isn't going to kill you!" Bender replied. "Unless of course you already have alcohol poisoning…"

"If I had that, I probably wouldn't be in this room." Fry said.

"Well, then take a drink." Bender said. "I got the real stuff this time!"

Reluctantly, Fry finally gave in and took the alcoholic beverage from Bender and they both belched and binged well into the night before Fry finally passed out on the floor.

Hey everyone! This is my first Futurama story and I am glad that I thought of doing a story like this. In case you're wondering, this story takes place after the end of the fourth season when the show went off the air, hence the time setting I put in place. It was a spur of the moment idea that came to my head just recently, so I'm not sure how long this story will last, or whether I'll be finishing it or not. However, I really hope that you enjoyed this first chapter and I look forward to your reviews! :)

saturn95