Futurama

The Forgotten Diary
By purplefish

Disclaimers: Futurama and all the related characters are a creation of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. This text is purely fan material and has absolutely no commercial purposes.

Before we start: A short one I had to write, as it was haunting me. And I would like to thank Officer 1BDI for the great help she provided for fixing the various orthographic and grammatical errors that were plaguing it, and to tell me what part needed to be changed for the sake of coherence and “emotional accuracy”. Thanks! That really was kind from you !

Leela took her time to get prepared that morning. The professor had given everybody a day off, so she had the time to spare, but it was the charm of what happened the day before that encouraged her to put forth the effort.

It was beautiful. She knew Fry had put all of his effort into this opera, but she certainly wasn’t expecting everything that had happened that evening. Thinking of any part of the opera was making her light-hearted; she was still amazed by the sacrifice Fry made that night – turning the back to his talent for preventing her from marrying the robot-devil. And the last bit… When she and Fry were alone in the opera house…

She was inspired. This seemed like one of those special occasions. She quickly finished getting dressed and then locked Nibbler in her living room, just to be sure he wouldn’t interrupt her. She opened a drawer on her bedside table and removed a small holocamera from it. Leela smiled. She was already keeping a diary, although in her case it was more like a compilation of her reports as a ship’s captain, interlaced with some more personal thoughts, but since she was a little girl, she had a ritual. Whenever she experienced something that would change her life, she would make a holorecording where she would detail everything she was feeling, good or bad. There was one disk for each important moment of her life. That way, all of the important turns of her existence were easily summarized for when she’d want to present to her children what made her what she was. So far, she didn’t have many of them, as such moments aren’t that frequent in an existence.

Leela thought that this was one of those rare occasions.

The young woman put a blank holodisk in the machine, activated its hovering support, and finally turned it on. When she was sure that the date and hour was accurate, she launched the recording.

She walked back a little, ensuring herself she would be properly recorded. She closed her eye, took a deep breath… And the words came out as easily as if she had always known what she would say.

She began by describing all the events that lead to that fateful evening, from Fry’s deal with the robot devil to that enchanting moment they shared when everybody was gone. After this, she explained that Fry took her back to her apartment. They didn’t say a word during the whole journey, lost in their thoughts, still bewitched by everything that happened. The only words they said to each other were “good night” but the last look they gave at each other said much, much more. Leela would certainly never forget what she saw in Fry’s eyes that night. She wondered herself what he could have seen in hers.

After this recap, in order to set the scene for whoever would watch this, became the most important part : her feelings on the matter…

I know I’m bending my own rules a little by doing this recording the day after, but I needed the night for clearing my thoughts. It’s… How can I say that ? I’ve known a fair few men in my life, I can hardly deny it. Some played a great part in my life. But none of them would have done something like this for me. I know Fry loves me. He already told me numerous times, may it be verbally and in other ways. But yesterday… It was different. He proved it. That opera he wrote was another way for him for telling me what he feels for me, I’ve known this since he said I would be the subject of his piece. That shouldn’t have been different from the other times, but it really troubled me, much more than anything he has done before. That may be because I always had a crush on musicians… No, I think it was something else. He was writing something that would certainly have been a universal masterpiece if things would have turned out differently. Something people would always remember, like all those operas that were made a millennium ago and are still played. There may be some kind of pride, as, after all, I was the center of his work… But… I don’t know… Fry wasn’t trying to impress the others. He only wanted to share his feelings. Such purity must have changed the way I was looking at him.

But I don’t think that’s what has marked me. It’s what happened during the opera. Fry willingly renounced his gift, preventing him from finishing his masterpiece. He deliberately destroyed his chance to secure his place in the history of music, exposed himself to the hatred of the whole public… All to protect me…

It’s because of me he couldn’t finish it. If I had told him I was temporarily deaf, he would have delayed the premiere, I wouldn’t have to make that deal with the robot-devil and he would be remembered as a great composer and musician. And yet, he doesn’t care. He did what he thought was right, no matter what it could have cost to him. That’s what I’ll always remember. He proved me numerous times what he would ever do for me, but it’s only now that I realize how much he cares about me. He sacrificed fame for me, and I know he’s happy this way. He knows how grateful I am that he got me out of this misery.

And finally, that moment we shared together… Many would have only seen crude holograms and would have complained about the strident melody, but they would be wrong. I didn’t see this. I saw his soul. I saw how pure and simple his feelings are for me. Fry is not one of those people who constantly ask themselves if what they think they feel is what really is or not. He does not doubt or hesitate, and he can’t be mistaken about his own feelings. He loves me. And he wants me to be happy. That is all that has to be said.

I don’t really know what will happen next, between the two of us… I’ve considered him as an immature fool for years, but I know now it’s not that simple. There is something in him that makes him more valuable than many men in this whole universe. He’s not the smartest or the strongest, he’s clumsy, he’s a nobody… But he wishes to improve, and would never hurt me in any ways. When you know where to watch, he’s the most adorable person you could imagine. I can’t say what the future will bring to us, but nothing will ever be the same.

That’s why I’ve made this recording.

Fry is no longer just a friend. And I have the feeling… That I’ve entered in a new phase of my life.

Leela reached for the holorecorder and then stopped the recording. She switched it into viewing mode to review her recording. Probably not the best speech ever made, but at least it was properly recorded. She took the holodisk out of the machine and gave it a strange look. It was a bit hard to realize that such a small thing could constitute a milestone for the rest of her life. She smiled. After all, a few years back, it would have been hard as well to believe that Fry could have been the cause of it, especially when she was still working at Applied Cryogenics, when she only knew him as ‘that frozen guy nobody remembers exactly what he’s doing here, but anyway he’s supposed to get out just for the year 3000’. She returned to her night table, stored the holodisk in its small case and put the holorecorder back in its drawer. Taking a pen from the drawer, she wrote on the case’s small label the date and the name ‘Fry’s Opera’. She stood, went to her closet, and opened it. On the top shelf, there was a small box… She grabbed it and sat back on her bed. It was always a bit strange every time she opened it : by doing so, she was acknowledging a turn in her life. All her previous recordings were there. She put the last one in the box and contemplated its content. So many memories… Not always good, but that didn’t really matter. There was her whole life, in that box. Every time she left her apartment, she was afraid to come back to find she had been robbed. Of course, that was silly. What would a robber do with such things ? Those nine holodisks were among her most precious belongings and had a particular sentimental value. It would be extremely painful if…

Leela froze.

Nine?

She counted the holodisks again. She wasn’t hallucinating: they really were nine. Amazed, she stood still for several seconds, staring at the holodisks. That was impossible! She clearly remembered every time she had made one of them! She made one the first time a boy kissed her; another one when she got graduated; another one when she got her pilot certificate; a fourth one when she got her career chip, which ironically designed her as a job assignment officer; the fifth was made that fateful day she met Fry and Bender and resigned from her previous job; the sixth, when she got that operation that gave her two eyes; the seventh when she finally found her parents; and the last one, that she just made, for Fry’s opera. She also made one when she met Alcazar, but when the truth about him was revealed, she got rid of the holodisk. More precisely, she smashed it into dozens of pieces, melted them, poured cement on the result, and threw the whole mess into the Hudson.

That made eight, not nine.

Leela got all the holodisks out, and examined them closely. She easily recognized the ones she made by the past, and soon identified the intruder. She picked it up and looked at its label. Unless she was mistaken, that was her handwriting… Nothing could have distinguished it from the others. It simply said a date and ‘Fry’s message’. It wasn’t ringing a bell at all. Apparently, it had been made between the moment she had two eyes and the day she found her parents. For a second, she wondered why she didn’t notice the holodisk at that last moment, but then she remembered she was such in a state that she wasn’t really paying attention to everything, and that she had left to spend more moments with her parents as soon as she had finished and put the holodisk in the box. She hadn’t touched it since that day. But that still didn’t explain what she could have recorded that day. She tried to remember what happened during the period it was made… And suddenly, the memories came back.

The timeskips! The recording had been made during the timeskips!

All the fateful events came back to her mind: the Harlem Globetrotters challenging Earth, the professor making his mutants, Leela, Fry and Bender gathering the chronotons, the mess it created… And her marriage to Fry.

The light came to her mind. She didn’t know what pushed her into marrying the young man, but at the time, she had automatically presumed he’d drugged her or something along those lines. That was back when she just couldn’t see Fry as something else besides a friend in her mind’s eye. It was completely contrary to what she was feeling at the moment… But looking at the holodisk made her shake.

It must be it. The reason that led her to stand next to Fry in front of the altar must certainly be on that holodisk. What else could have made her record one? What else than something that made her want to spend the rest of her life with him? That thought frightened her. If she ever discovered that Fry really tricked her that day, she would never be able to think of him the same way she had only a few minutes back. It would be the ultimate proof he could lie to her, and she knew that if such was the case, she would never forgive him.

But something else was pushing her to watch the recording.

What if he hadn’t tricked her? What if she had willingly said ‘yes’?

There was a chance that was the case. The very existence of the holodisk was troubling. If she ever wasn’t in her normal state at that time, she might never have thought to make it in the first place.

But then… That would mean she hurt and rejected him without any valid reasons…

Leela spent a few minutes staring at the holodisk, not knowing what to do. Whatever it contained, the consequences may be dire… The idea of watching it scared her more than anything else she lived through during her whole life. But on the other hand, if she didn’t do it, she’d no doubt regret it for the rest of her life…

She took her time, weighing the pros and the cons… And stood up to go to her living room.

She had to know.

As she entered, Nibbler started to dance around her, but she didn’t pay attention to him. She quickly plugged in her holoplayer and placed the disk in. As her finger was about to press the ‘play’ button, she paused for a few seconds. She could still turn back…

She sighed. No, she could not. She pressed the button and looked at the holograms that floated above the machine.

When the hologram stabilized, Leela saw herself in the cockpit of the Planet Express ship. Apparently, it was in the middle of the ‘night’, as all the ship’s lights were turned off. A quick look at the hour the recording had been made told her this was the case.

The other Leela was standing next to the console. She was wearing the bathrobe Leela kept in the ship, but what surprised the young woman was that, apparently, she was wearing nothing else under it. That was already a bit disconcerting, but the expression on the other Leela’s face was much more perplexing : she seemed troubled by something, but it was impossible to say in what way exactly. The other Leela spent a few seconds silent, looking to the ground, apparently trying to gather her thoughts… And finally she began to speak.

The story behind this recording is a bit long… But I think I have to go into the details if I want to properly explain why this may be one of the most important days of my life. It all began when the Harlem Globetrotters challenged Earth to a basketball match. The professor decided to accept the challenge, and created some mutants to confront the Globetrotters. As he needed to speed up their growth, he sent me, Fry and Bender to pick up some strange particles called chronotons, which have the power to affect the flow of time. Unfortunately, that started the time skips: minutes, even hours were flying by in a blink, with no way to know what happened during the skip. The Professor finally found a way to put an end to the situation: he designed a ray that was powerful enough to move entire stars, and made us dispose some around the nebula that was the source of the time skips, which would block the radiations causing the timeskips. As it was apparently a success, he gave us some a vacation.

The day after we returned, I decided to go see Fry to apologize about the way I treated him before. He was constantly axing me to go out with him, and after a while… Well, I lost patience and said really mean things to him. But he wasn’t in his apartment. Bender told me he hadn’t see Fry since our return. That surprised me, but at the time, I thought he might have decided to spend a day alone to enjoying his free time. The day after, however, there were still no signs of him. Worried, I ran to Planet Express and axed the professor and Hermes if they had seen him. They told me that a few hours after we’d returned to Earth, he’s axed permission to borrow the ship and ray for a few days. I’m still wondering why the professor accepted, but I think he is as well: he has since forgotten what made him say ‘yes’. When I heard this, I began to fear that something bad had happened to Fry, and also curse him for acting so stupid. I took the company’s GPS that indicated Fry’s position, and called the pilot school I once enrolled at. They let me borrow one of their ships: it was a small one designed for pursuing space pirates, and it had the ability to pierce the hull of any ship to allow the pilot to get inside.

It didn’t take me long to find Fry. As I feared, I found the ship not too far away from the nebula. But when I tried to call Fry, the radio was dead. And then I realized the ship was drifting. I think that’s when I really panicked. I immediately posed the small interceptor on the top of the ship and activated the intrusion device. In a matter of seconds, a hole was pierced in the ship’s hull, but it was blocked by the access pipe that now linked the two ships. I slipped in the pipe, ended in the storeroom, and immediately ran to the cockpit. I found Fry, unconscious, lying on the console. Terrified that something really bad had happened to him, I grabbed him and began to slap him, calling his name frantically. He finally opened his eyes, but it was clear he wasn’t feeling good. Still, he managed to smile at me and salute me. He said he wasn’t expecting me so soon. I think at this moment I lost my nerves: I called him a moron, and eventually axed him why he had disappeared without telling anybody what he was doing and where he was going. He only replied that he needed to give me a surprise. Somehow, that calmed me down. I was still furious, but something was telling me the surprise wasn’t his trip. When I axed him ‘what surprise…’ he simply pointed something with his finger… I saw it… And…”

The other Leela stopped. She obviously had some problems finding the words for describing what she saw. Leela saw herself move towards the recorder (and therefore disappear from the screen), and lift it up.

I think I should show you what he did…

Apparently, the other Leela was turning the recorder for showing something outside. Leela focused, trying to see exactly what it was. But it’s only when the image zoomed in and got clear that she finally saw it. And the image nearly knocked her off.

She could see the stars she moved for surrounding the nebula that had caused the timeskips, but she immediately realized other stars had been moved as well. And all of them were positioned to spell out a message.

I LOVE YOU, LEELA

The Cyclops couldn’t look away. She just wasn’t able to think normally. A wide array of emotions were fighting for supremacy in her mind, and it was impossible for her to know which was winning, or even which ones were involved. The other Leela reappeared on the hologram. She was looking at the stars, apparently still troubled by them, despite having seen them before. She started to talk again.

I don’t know how much time I’ve spent looking at it. I’m… Hypnotized. I think I never noticed it before now because I was never in the right position, and I didn’t have a clear view of it. It took me a while to remember that Fry was in my arms, still ill. When I finally recovered from the shock, I looked at him and realized he was unconscious again. I lifted him, and rushed to the sick room, carrying him in my arms.

He wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Apparently, when he wrote that message, he spent too much time too close to the stars, and some radiation managed to pass through the ship’s protections. It poisoned him, but the devices I found in the sick room were able to cure him. All he really needed was some rest. When I was sure he was out of danger, I went to the cockpit and moved us away from the stars… But not too far, so that I would be able to see the message.

I spent some very long moments staring at it. After a while, I went back to the sick room and sat with Fry. He looked so relaxed in his sleep… He wasn’t even snoring, for once… And while I was waiting for him to wake up, I thought a lot. I wasn’t sure how I should take this… I always pictured Fry as an adorable, yet immature person. He already had told me numerous times he cared for me, but that never really made an impression on me. But then, why was it different this time? There was the fact he had used stars to tell me this, sure, but there was something else… Something that I couldn’t find on my own. I needed to know. To ask him.

He finally awoke. The first thing he did when he saw me was to smile at me and to say he made me worry for him again, apparently. I simply smiled back at him. But I couldn’t hold up any longer. I immediately axed him why he did this. (The other Leela smiled and stroke her forehead) Funny… I can remember every word we said… He told me… He had to do this. He had already tried numerous times to tell me he loved me, but every time it failed. He said he’d thought for a bit, and he may have figured out why. He just couldn’t find the words… He would desperately try to tell me everything he was feeling, but every time he was finally given a shot, it blew up in his face. Instead of getting to the more important details, he would say something stupid that ruined his efforts. And the worst was that he was aware of this. So he thought… That maybe if he wrote it, I would finally see how strong his feelings were. But then, he would need to find a way of saying it that would reveal how deep it was. And when he saw what he could do with the ray, he knew he had found the best support for his message.

I told him that I already knew it. That, although I was extremely flattered, it wasn’t worth risking his life for it. And then… That may be what really struck me… He said that once again, I wasn’t getting it. Sure, he didn’t know it could be dangerous, but even if he did, he would have done it nonetheless. All he wanted was to show me that he wasn’t kidding when he said he loved me. And now that I’ve seen it, now that I’ve discovered what he could do for me… He knew it was totally worth it. He did what his heart was telling him to do, and that was something he would never regret.

And I finally saw the truth.

A few weeks ago, Fry got infected with parasites that changed him. And… Now that I think about this, I feel guilty… I loved the new Fry. I loved it so much that I rejected him when he got rid of the worms, and went back to his former self. I thought the transformed Fry was better than the real one, and couldn’t see myself with this Fry.

I was wrong. The worms didn’t change Fry. They revealed his true self. They allowed him to fully express those thoughts deep inside of him. Fry often acts like an idiot, he’s goofed up numerous times, and he has flaws that many women, including me, have trouble pardoning. But that’s just the outer shell. The Fry who would do anything for the woman he loves, who just wants to make her happy and who makes his effort best for he: this is the real Fry. If you give him the opportunity, he surfaces. That message made with stars is not the work of an immature child. It has been made by someone who wishes to improve so that the woman he loves will finally see him as he really is. And…I finally opened my eye to him. I shouldn’t have treated him the way I did. I shouldn’t have turned down his offers. I should have paid him more attention.

I told him that I would never forget what he had done, and that I was happy he did it. He smiled. I smiled back at him. We stood a few seconds, silently, looking at each other… And then… When he tried to kiss me… I didn’t stop him.

After this… (The other Leela smiled again, looking a bit embarrassed) Well, as he would say, ‘one thing led to another’ ! I don’t really know what took me. It’s just… I wanted to do this with him. As if I’ve been waiting for this for years. But there is something else, and that may be why I’m making this recording. Every time I start a relationship, I can’t help but axing myself if I’m making the right choice, if I’m doing another stupid thing that I may regret later. Every time. Especially when I decide to spend the night with the guy for the first time.

That didn’t happen, tonight. I didn’t worry about my future with Fry. I don’t know what it will bring to me… And I don’t care. I just want to live every second of it. And whatever happens next, I will welcome it with serenity.

The other Leela glanced once again at the message. She looked so peaceful… Leela couldn’t believe she had been like this one day. She tried to find the flaw in her words, something that would indicate she wasn’t as sure as she sounded. But she failed. That Leela was considering every single word she pronounced. That Leela was happy; nothing else had to be said. The other Leela finally looked back in the direction of the recorder, and the young woman had the feeling she was, in fact, staring at her.

Fry is sleeping, right now. As soon as he wakes up, we’ll go back to Earth. I don’t have anything special planned for our return, but I’m pretty sure the next few days will be decisive. I can’t believe I’ve been searching for someone who would make the world shake around me for so long, and that I in fact found him a few years ago and couldn’t see it. Maybe I’m overreacting… But right now, I want to live with him. I know this from the bottom of my heart. And I want to keep something that will remind me how stupid I could have been.

From now on, I’ll know who Fry is. He’s the one. That’s the only thing about him I will never doubt about again.

The other Leela got near the holorecorder, and turned it off. As the holograms were disappearing, the holoplayer was slowly returning to standby mode.

Leela would never know how much time she spent in the middle of her own living room, too stunned to make a single move. After a while she reactivated the recording ; fast-forwarding it, she froze the image at the moment the message appeared in the holograms. Shaking from head to toe, she shyly raised her hand. Her fingers went through the floating letters, but she followed their curves, gently and softly.

Nibbler was as surprised as his mistress, and that nearly managed to break his cover, but he forced himself to act like a pet that feels that something was happening to its mistress. And that was the case. Leela was maybe standing still, but her mind was boiling from everything that she had heard and seen, but also from every thought it had forced into her mind.

Only one of those thoughts was consistently coming back.

I didn’t trust him.

She couldn’t think of anything else. When it happened, she thought Fry tricked her. Now, she knew the answer. He didn’t. In a way, that should have reassured her… But it only managed to trouble her even more. And it wasn’t Fry that troubled her ; it was herself.

How could she have ever thought that Fry would do something bad to her?

She despised him. She treated him like garbage. And moreover, she made him think he could have done those things to her. And yet, nothing at the time could have really indicated to her that he could act like this. She had absolutely no real proof, but that didn’t stop her from accusing him.

Leela shot another look at the device. The holodisk was still inside it.

She quickly took it out, put it in his little case, grabbed her coat and went out.

There was something she had to do.

Bender grumbled when he heard the bell. After the opera, he went out and went to every bar he could find in a desperate attempt to forget he was even in the opera. As it was important to Fry, he restrained himself during the whole show, but he just couldn’t stand the idea of opera. As a result, he went back home very late – or more precisely early in the morning, and had barely slept. And now, someone was ringing at 10 AM, waking him up. Whoever it was, they’d certainly be denied a warm welcome.

The robot wasn’t exactly surprised to see Leela when he opened the door. He may have a hangover at the moment, but he was still remembered who was the subject of Fry’s opera. His anger prevented him from noticing something strange in the Cyclops’ expression.

- Whaddya want, big boots? Said Bender, his voice altered by his current state.

- Good morning to you too, Bender… Replied Leela in an almost shy tone. Is Fry here?

- What, you expect him to be in Las Vegas or something? Of course he’s here! Hang on a second…

Bender turned to look to the rest of the apartment.

- Hey, Fry! Leela’s here, and she wants to talk to you!

Immediately, various strange noises could be heard from another room, as if an avalanche was occuring. When Leela heard Fry’s voice, she quickly realized the young man wasn’t really expecting a visit.

- What?!? Wait! I’m getting ready! I won’t be long! Gaaah, stupid trousers, let my legs get in you! Wait a sec… Oh crap, that’s my jacket! Mrmf… Gnnnnnn… Don’t come in yet, Leela! Just a few more seconds, and… Ouch! What the… Arrrrgh!

Silence suddenly fell over the apartment. For a few long seconds, Bender and Leela faced each other, with nothing to say. The robot was not starting a conversation, anyway.

- Come in!

Bender pointed a random direction behind him with his thumb.

- You know the way.

- Err, Bender… (Leela wasn’t really feeling at ease.) I would like to have a private talk with Fry. I’m sorry to ask you this, but… Could you leave us alone?

- What?! Not in your dreams! I live here, eyeball, and I’m not a kid you can send to bed just because you want to do nasty things with Fry!

Leela didn’t really like the last part of Bender’s rant, but she didn’t feel like arguing about it either. She got a 20 dollars bill out of her pocket.

- Here: take this, and get as drunk as you want.

The robot grabbed the bill so quickly Leela couldn’t even see his movements. Bender then went out into the corridor and quickly headed to the exit. He was looking much friendlier now.

- Have fun! Screamed the robot before disappearing in a turn.

Leela gave another angry look in the direction Bender took, but her irritation quickly went away. She had much more important problems at the moment… Taking a deep breath, she finally entered Fry’s apartment. At first she was a bit surprised to see it much cleaner than usual… It still didn’t fit her expectations of cleanliness and order, but there was definitely an improvement. Fry was learning everyday.

Speaking of Fry, the young man was standing just in the middle of the room. Leela’s mouth immediately became dry when she saw him. He was dressed in his usual outfit, but something in his appearance was indicating he indeed had to rush for getting dressed. But more importantly, the expression on his face upon seeing her screamed for joy. The smile he gave her would certainly help her in her task.

- Hi, Leela.

The young woman finally decided to move forward. Smiling back at him, she nervously ran a hand through her hair, trying her best to look decent.

- Hello, Fry. Did I disturb you?

- No, not at all. You just… Caught me off-guard, replied Fry, giggling a bit. I was more tired than usual, what with all the stress from yesterday, so I kinda forgot the time…

- I can understand. That sure was a night to remember…

- Well, I know that I’ll never forget it…

The two looked at each other, a bit embarrassed. Fry looked as though he was dying to speak, yet he could hardly find the words.

- Did… Hahem… Did you like it? I mean, you didn’t say a word after it ended, and…

- I loved it, Fry. Every single part.

- Really? Even after I… Well… Lost my skills?

- It was the best part.

That managed to surprise the young man.

- What? Why?

- Because it came from your heart. And, demonic hands or not, you expressed everything that was important to you.

Fry smiled again. Leela suspected her review would be the only one he would ever remember.

- Thank you, Leela. I hope… The message got through…

Leela tried to look happy… But she couldn’t. The real purpose of her visit was obsessing her, and she couldn’t get it out of her mind. Fry quickly realized something was wrong. Concerned, he began to question if he really wanted to know why she had come.

- Are you alright, Leela? You look pale…

Leela closed her eye. That was it: the defining moment. She had to go on if she ever wanted to look herself in the mirror again.

And if she wanted to finally clarify her feelings for Fry.

She grabbed the holodisk in her jacket, and pulled it out. Fry looked at it with a puzzled face.

- I… I have something to show you…

Fry and Leela didn’t say a word while the recording was playing.

When the holograms faded away, Leela took a few seconds to pluck up enough courage to look at Fry. The young man was as shocked as she feared. His mouth wide opened as he stared at the space where the holograms had been a moment before, completely paralyzed. Leela decided to break the silence.

- I’ve just found this today… Among other personal belongings… I… I thought you had to know…

Fry’s body began to shake. He slowly gained back enough faculties to speaking again.

- My God…

- That’s the first thing I thought too. Fry… That recording… There are so many things I want to say, and I can’t find the words…

- You’ve finally seen it… I can’t believe that after all those months, you’ve finally seen it…

Leela was desperately trying to form coherent sentences, explaining what she was feeling… But Fry’s words managed to put an end to her efforts.

Especially the word “finally”.

- You… You knew about it ?

- Yes… (Fry looked at Leela. The young woman saw relief, but also incredulity in his eyes.) I’ve seen it. Just before it got blown up with the chronotons.

Leela remembered that fateful day. The doomsday device… The implosion it caused destroyed the nebula and the nearby stars… But then, that meant…

- Oh my God… I’ve destroyed it! I’ve destroyed the message!

- You didn’t know, Leela, said Fry. I had no idea it existed either until you let me fly the ship away from the explosion zone.

- And you… (Leela was too shocked to really pay attention to what Fry said before.) That was what you saw, right ? Just after the explosion, you asked Bender and me if ‘we saw it’, but you never told us what you were talking about !

- Yes, that was that. For a few seconds, I hoped that you caught a glimpse of it. But when you told me you didn’t… I felt all my hopes had been destroyed with the stars. And the worst of it all… Was that I knew I couldn’t say anything about this to you or Bender because you would never have believed me.

- And when we came back to Earth… You disappeared for two weeks, without telling anyone where you were. You didn’t even tell us where and why you were gone when you finally showed up again.

- I needed a few days alone… To deal with this, to try and make the pain go away… Those were the two saddest weeks of my life…

Hearing this proceeded to completely destroy Leela’s confidence. It was even worse than she had thought, and she already had difficulties handling the shame she had hoarded since she first saw the recording. Not only has she thought Fry betrayed her, but she also inadvertently destroyed the proof that he never had, let alone what was, perhaps, the greatest thing a man had ever done to tell the woman of his dreams how he felt about her. That was far too much for her. Burying her head in her hands, she began to feel the tears coming out of her eye. Fry didn’t know what to do, but he immediately knew that Leela was suffering from the revelation.

- Oh my God… How could have I done all this to you? How!?

Fry was almost as desperate as the young woman. He couldn’t let her stay in such a state. He just hated to see her so sad; there was no way he could leave her like this without doing his best to comfort her. He gently put an arm around her shoulders, and talked to her with the peaceful voice he had.

- Leela… Calm down… Everything is okay…

The young woman raised her head and looked at Fry. He immediately saw she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.

- ‘Okay’? Nothing is ‘okay’, Fry! Don’t you understand? That very same day, I treated you like the most disgusting man in the world! I was stupid enough to think you could have tricked me, without even asking myself if I agreed to marry you just because I was in love with you! And even worse, I made you think you could have done this! Can’t you see how cruel I’ve been with you?

Fry looked at her, still sad… But Leela wasn’t able to see any grief in his eyes. That almost disconcerted her.

- Leela, I can’t. Of course, I didn’t trick you… But did I really do anything that would make you think you might be wrong? I mean, come on! I was harassing you just like Zapp always does, and I wasn’t any more subtle than him! How could you think it was sincere? Besides… Sure, I was desperate when the message got destroyed… But I understood something during the following two weeks: I knew the truth; I knew I wasn’t the pig I thought I was before seeing it. At least, I could still look at myself in a mirror without asking myself if I had ever hurt you. And there was one last thing that wasn’t destroyed with the stars…

Leela raised her eyebrow. She was slowly getting her emotions under control, but she was still feeling miserable after all she has done.

- And… What was it ?

- Hope. I mean, think: when it happened, there was absolutely no chances you would be with me, right ? You were constantly rejecting me. Even I was starting to think that it would never happen. But that message and the marriage… It proved it was possible. I managed once to win your heart once… And after the timeskips… I thought that maybe I would be able to do it again…

- But… I destroyed the message… And you will never be able to make it again…

- I know… But in the end, you saw it, didn’t you?

Leela, still insecure, simply nodded. Why was he so calm? She just couldn’t understand…

- Then it doesn’t matter if it no longer exists. The message got through, and after all, that’s why I’ve written it in the first place, right?

Fry smiled at her. Leela finally began to see why he was so serene. If someone had ever done such a thing to her, she would have gone mad… And if it was someone she had feelings for, it would probably take a very long time for her to forgive him. If she ever forgave him at all.

But it wasn’t the way Fry was usually thinking. He just couldn’t get mad at her for this, because he couldn’t see why he should. Think whatever you want of Fry, but there’s a part of him that is aware of his flaws – the very same part that tries to exceed those flaws to show to the one he loves what he can do for them. And this part was telling him that, given the circumstances, Leela couldn’t have acted differently.

The only thing that prevented him from getting depressed was his unchanging love for her. The knowledge that this man was forgiving her so easily for such a behavior… It was something that managed to put an end to her self-loathing. Everything in life was so simple for Fry; so, if he couldn’t see why it was such a big deal, maybe it was because there was nothing to really worry about…

She finally smiled back at him.

- You’re right, Fry. The stars are gone – but the message still exists. You showed it again, yesterday. Whatever you may use in the future… It will get through.

Fry suddenly looked to the floor, less confident than before. He seemed a bit disturbed by the memories of the previous night…

- Yeah… About the opera… That wasn’t such a good idea, after all… I mean, having me scream to everybody how wonderful you are, it may have been embarrassing… And of course, if I hadn’t done it, you wouldn’t have been targeted by the robot devil… I put you in danger by…

- Please, stop saying that, Fry. That opera was fantastic, and even if only a couple of people in the audience really felt something special when they were listening to it, it was worth doing it. But you’re not the one to blame for the dreadful parts… They wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been so blind towards you…

Fry looked again at Leela, this time feeling concerned.

- Leela, you’re not…

- You had to write an opera to make me understand you were sincere. Other women would have understood much sooner. But it’s over, now. You won’t have to make any more efforts.

Fry’s eyes widened so abruptly that it was almost comical. Leela repressed a giggle. That was so strange… Only a few minutes before, she was about to slap herself, but after just a few words of Fry, she was able to laugh again… Another proof of how special Fry was…

- You… You mean…!?

- Yes. Fry… I want to be with you. Since you’ve awakened from your cryogenic capsule, you’ve always done your best for me. Whenever I was feeling bad, you were there to give me a hand. Whenever I needed to talk to someone, you listened to me. You’ve helped me every time I was having a bad moment. I never really realized that until now… But I always knew that I could trust you, no matter what happened. You’re the very first man who made me feel that way, Fry... And after having finally realizing that, I can tell you I will never, ever say that you can’t be that kind of person…

Leela searched Fry’s eyes… And she smiled. All the joy he was feeling at this moment was appearing in them, a joy that he very rarely felt in his life. It was the ultimate proof of his admiration for her. Those eyes couldn’t lie; Fry might certainly be restraining himself from crying, but Leela knew it was incredibly difficult. The young woman still hadn’t finished. There was one last thing to do.

- Fry, I still have something to ask you…

- Whatever you want, Leela… Said Fry, his voice trembling with emotion.

- That… ‘Message’ you wanted to tell me… Will you continue to say it?

Fry smiled. Once again, Leela couldn’t see any treachery in his face.

- Yes. I may not be able to write an opera or to use stars every day, but I swear that one way or the other, I will keep on telling it to you. I love you, Leela. I always will.

The young woman’s heart began to beat faster, as she finally let the last bit of her doubt disappear. She had no more reasons to question her future with him. She no longer had to worry. He was the one.

For a brief second, Leela had the feeling she could remember everything that happened during the timeskip. The taste of his lips. The sensation of finally being complete. The sweet abandonment while making love with him. The happiness of waking up by his side. The sweetness of the moments they had together. The incredulity and overwhelming joy when he proposed to her. The stress and excitement the last minutes before the ceremony.

Leela had a last conscious thought : it may have been memories… But it could as well have been a premonition of things to come.

They looked into each other’s eyes during long moments, both unable to articulate another word… And then, slowly, Fry leant toward Leela. The young woman didn’t try to avoid him. She even went to him, closing her eye, welcoming the moment.

All her worries disappeared when their lips united. She never knew exactly how long they stood there kissing, carefree and happy, but it certainly never seemed long enough.