The next morning was a little hectic on the feline's part. He didn't know when he got up, but when he wandered into the kitchen, Nibbler was cleaning the last bits of snout from his bowl and Leela was halfway through her own bowl of Coincidence Charms. Huh...I guess she's out of Admiral Crunch.
Once the last of the three had had something to eat (he opted to share with his friend rather then her pet who apparently didn't know the meaning of the phrase 'small bites'), Leela put Nibbler on his leash, offered Fry her shoulder, and headed for work. On the way, he noticed they slowed down in front of a small antique shop. Hey, isn't this the same place she looked at yesterday? What's so interesting about this store? Only a few seconds of looking and the trio was off again, but not before Leela stopped completely in front of a display made up of silver charms. Even though it was only a small set, it was still hard to tell if she was looking at any in particular.
At the morning meeting, the Professor took the reigns from Hermes. "Good news everyone!"
Leela was half zoned out and jumped, catching herself just before her head slammed into the table. "You found out what happened to Fry?"
"No!" He answered her, still grinning widely. "I did however find out that wherever he went, he got there naked." He put the pile of clothes down on the table.
"That's just like him," Bender nearly wailed. "Goin' off to a wild nudist party and he doesn't tell me."
"What could he have been thinking? And don't keep up with the nudist theory Bender, he didn't do that." Leela finished, scowling at him.
"I'll bet I'm right." The bending unit turned and started to mope. "Just because I can't technically be naked, all the organisms think I won't enjoy a good party."
Fry whined and made a mental note to take Bender to the Hip Joint maybe when this was all settled, just to pick up his artificial spirits. That was when the meeting got interesting.
"I made another discovery in that experiment room, though." The Professor reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial filled with a thick, beige colored liquid. "One of the machines had been activated and it had this in its output slot."
Everyone leaned forward with interest, and while Fry thought that being squished by Leela's stomach wouldn't be a bad way to go, he needed to hear this. So he wriggled his way out and jumped onto the table.
Amy tilted her head. "So, what is it?"
"I don't know," the old man admitted.
Everyone groaned. "So why is this important then?" Leela asked.
"It was a long time ago...in the span of about ten years when I still thought Mom was a heartless devil and I'd never want to see her again. Anyway, I had just finished my alien cross-species genetic analyzer and somehow the government found out about it. They came to me with a contract that said if I could find a way to change the DNA of their spies so that their forms would change as well, they could give me more money then I'd ever dreamed. I invented the machine that made this serum to do two things: mix the DNA of two people so that it would turn spies into whoever they were spying on and create a way to change them back so they didn't have to be a different person the rest of their lives. But the final tests of the damn thing didn't work. The subtleties in DNA from person to person were too small for it to recognize. Which is why it never even made an antidote."
Farnsworth held up the vial to the light, giving Fry a very good look at it. So that thing was supposed to be a spy tool? Cool! It's like I'm in Mission: Impossible and I've been treated to the animal face changer.
"We tried it three different times, and even after being injected, the mixture didn't take. Oh, what things I could have done with that money..." He trailed off, muttering something about owning half the world and abandoning his delivery business so Hermes took over control of the meeting again.
For once Fry didn't have to pay attention to the mission brief and without Leela glaring at him for snoring, he peacefully snoozed right through it. It was a nap he quickly woke from when he felt two hands scooping him up. During takeoff, Leela couldn't help but smile at the cat when he jumped up onto a console and watched as the Earth slowly faded into the black of space. She shook her head when she realized her vision had blurred and wiped a tear from her cheek. Why is this bothering me so much? I've never cried when he called in sick. Even when he missed that three day delivery to Ontarom and we all got robbed. Including Bender!
The captain was pulled out of her thoughts by something nudging her knee. Lo and behold, it was her tabby with both front paws on her leg and shoving with all of his four pounds of body weight. With a concerned yowl, Fry hopped into her lap and began to lick away a tear that she had missed. His raspy tongue made her laugh and, though it was sad, he thought he had done well to have even slightly lifted her mood.
Her whole childhood she had been alone. Most of her adult life she was alone. Keeping people at arm's length wasn't just part of her personality anymore, it was what she had learned to do to survive. Then she had two friends just drop in on her on the same day. She knew most people wouldn't call a drinking, porno reading, thieving bending unit her 'friend', but the worst things he had done was to deliberately slow deliveries and 'borrow' her wallet from time to time. That wasn't as bad as what others had piled on her.
Then there was Fry. Without a doubt, her best friend ever. For the better part of four years he was like a little beacon of happy, attempting to lift her spirits whenever they fell for no other reason then he hated to see her upset. There were rare occasions when they didn't quite mesh, but those were less the longer they knew each other and a request to stop crying if the tears in question weren't happy more then made up for them.
Laughing reflexively, she snapped back to the ship's bridge. It was then that she realized she'd been wiping her eye on Fry's fur and much of his shoulder was slicked down. He didn't seem to mind though, apparently caressing her neck with his small paw to calm her.
His smooth pads didn't feel half bad, even less bad when they were pressed into her skin. Being a level headed captain, Leela switched on the autopilot to enjoy a few minutes of kitty massage. Once out of the solar system, she begrudgingly took manual control to hit a few gravity slingshots. The professor could come up with a better carbon dioxide-oxygen converter, but he didn't trust them to fill the tank more then half. As if keeping them right on track would keep them out of danger.
Of all times for that madman to be right. It was nearly eleven hours later and the crew had just set out for home, with only minimal disruptions. It would have been none, but Bender insisted on taking his 'beloved coworkers' out for a quick bite. Leela was in a good enough mood that, had he told her about the plan to run out on the check, she might have agreed. If worse came to worse, she could just pay herself. Instead he stayed silent and that was how the robot, cat, human and Decapodian ended up fleeing the local authorities.
Because it would be nearing the 24 hour mark when they got back (and because Hermes wasn't up for paying overtime), they were informed before they left that Thursday would be filled with much shorter deliveries and they didn't have to be in until one. This news did little to sway the ship's stubborn captain, who insisted that they stick to their usual eight hour shifts.
Human or not, Fry was still given orders he intended to follow. Three hours before the actually delivery and for five after they took off would be Bender's shift, a time when someone's watch was unofficially doubled to make sure there were no drinking contests. Zoidberg would be on the bridge, but Leela had made a chin-scratch request for an extra set of eyes on her way to her cabin. He wasn't even sure if she entirely meant it, but Fry still pulled his forelegs from around her neck and slid down until he was braced against the small of her back. He then dropped with his new feline ease and headed for the bridge.
When the door hissed open, there was a flurry of movement, followed by a huff and the replacing of a large hat to Bender's head. He evidently didn't want word to get around that his position of 'Captain for eight hours' had gone to his head. Swigging from a bottle and glaring at Leela's new 'spy', the robot lifted his foot-cups to rest on the wheel in front of him.
The remainder of Bender's shift was uneventful, with Fry keeping a close eye on the situation when Zoidberg got up for something to snack on. The animal was starting to revel in the opportunities his new form gave him, actually. When the doctor got up for something, he simply stared at Bender from the back of the couch cushions. He was once made very uncomfortable by a calico and he thought it would be worth a try to see how long he had to stare before his robot friend lost it. After twenty-seven seconds he yowled as a pirate hat hit him square in the face.
Zoidberg blinked as he walked onto the scene. "Robot, did you just throw something at the animal?"
"Yeah, so?" Bender gripped the wheel and kept his eyes straight ahead, though he left the autopilot on. "Her new pet was trying to get into my head. I'm tellin' ya, there's something going on with her and that beastie." He checked his internal clock, leaving him seemingly doing nothing for a few seconds. "I've only got five minutes left online. You wanna call big boots and get her up here?"
He nodded and set down his drink. By this time, Fry had climbed back up the couch and mewed to get the doctor's attention. "Hm? Would you like to go wake her up?" Fry mewed again. Shrugging, Zoidberg hit the switch and the door opened, letting the cat dart under it. He looked back and purred at him, then turned down the corridor. The doctor waved. "You're welcome, my furry friend."
Bender's head spun around to look at him. "Did you just talk to a cat?"
He nodded, which only caused the bending unit to shake his head and mutter under his breath. "He's just as bad as those humans."
Outside of Leela's room, Fry was leaping as high as he could get and swiping at the panel in an attempt to get the door open. Having landed for the seventh time, he whined. I forgot I'd have to open this door myself. Maybe I should go back and get Zoidberg. Before he can make up his mind, the door slid open and he heard Nibbler jabbering at him from a shelf. The small creature blinked its three eyes at him and scampered off, curling himself on the lone chair in the room. Huh, that was weird.
All Fry could see was a mass of purple and figured he'd have to wake the captain by standing next to her shoulder and pushing. Doing so only resulted in rolling her to her stomach and mumbling into her pillow. He murred in annoyance but was ultimately undeterred, hopping onto her back and rumbling into her ear. Leels. Come on, you have to get up for your shift.
The delivery boy turned pet was suddenly struck by a headache with pictures. He knew were it not for the fact that he was now small and fuzzy he would get a beating if he tried this and Leela woke up, but waking her now was the whole point. Still, he couldn't help but look over his shoulder to see if Nibbler was watching. He wasn't. Okay, here goes.
After he cleared his head, Fry started a very Dracula-like lean in. His throat started an involuntary purr the closer he got, so he closed his eyes and quickly swiped his tongue over the woman's neck. She moved, but only enough to cover the spot with her shoulder. "Fry...stop that." Still purring and with more resolve, he switched sides to try again.
A few licks later she was groggy, but awake. It even took her a few seconds to remember why there was a purring menace in her cabin. Then her radio turned on, blaring some song Fry had never heard before; she had had her alarm set the whole time. It was like the music flipped a switch. Wide awake all at once, she pulled on her pants and boots (which the cat didn't even know she'd been missing), tied up her hair, and then silenced her radio in the middle of Lifehouse's Broken. She walked out with Nibbler on her heels.
Fry would have been right with her as well, but he heard a noise that made his ears swivel backward. The small laptop in Leela's cabin pinged, most likely with a message from Hermes. He had only recently gotten the idea to make mid-flight pickups, so sometimes he'd send alterations to their course to save them time. But it was an IM from Amy.
Pink_Cutie_1101: hey. can't sleep. How r u doing w/out the deliv boy?
A few seconds later, the computer pinged again.
Pink_Cutie_1101: i'm being serious. we no u miss him. how can u not?
Wow, she can be pretty relentless sometimes. Too bad she's going to have to wait for an answer. Even if I could get Leela's attention, she won't leave her post until we get back to Earth. He batted at a few keys with his paw and a few random letters popped up. Oops. Leaning forward, he held down the backspace key until they were all erased. Hey...wait a second. Fry leaned back on his haunches, inspected the layout of the letters, they began an almost furious swatting while his tail danced behind him. Best idea ever.
Fry entered the bridge feeling rather proud of his recent slew of typing. He quickly noticed there was some collateral damage to his staying behind, though. Nibbler was asleep in what the tabby had come to think of as his lap. Oh well. I have been kind of hogging her for the past day. Brushing her leg as he passed, he jumped into his seat at navigation to start a power nap.
He opened his eyes a few minutes later, thinking that if his body didn't want to sleep there was no way for him to force it. As he watched Leela steering he was taken by a thought that sometimes popped into his head since a few months ago. The friend he had known for so long wasn't even what she had thought she was. Not that finding out she was a mutant bothered him; it was really just something interesting to think about. Kind of like his nephew making albino shouting gorillas. And the thought occurred to him at the oddest of times.
The first time it happened, he actually felt a little bad. Then he decided he shouldn't, because he didn't care and really Leela being a mutant had made her who she was. Had she been normal, she would have found a family and had a completely different personality. She might not have even been the person that tried to chase him down when he unfroze. He smiled inwardly at his luck, yawned, and finally drifted off.
The ship docking woke him. More accurately, it threw him to the deck. That was when he learned that cats really do land on their feet. He wasn't even completely awake and his body twisted in the air, making him end up landing rather daintily on his orange paws. He looked around, then sat. Okay, I could really get used to this.
It was 7:15 a.m. Leela's driving had gotten them home fifteen minutes early. The crew cleared out and went their separate ways while Leela locked up. Fry was left to wonder just what happened while he was asleep; Nibbler was being carried home and he didn't look so good. The small creature was whimpering weakly and his third eye was barely open. Given his condition, Fry didn't mind having to walk.
The trio hit a small delay at the antique store window, but there was another waiting for them halfway up to apartment 1-I. Two men were making piles of boxes outside the door of 4-E. Leela stopped so suddenly that Fry's head knocked into her boot. "Excuse me," she started. "But what's going on? Did something happen to Ms. Elexankia?"
The taller of the two, a heavy set man with almost acid-green hair, put a small table down and brushed his hands off on his coat before holding one out to her. "No, nothing's happened. Grandma just decided it was time for a change of scenery. I'm Spencer." After the greeting, he pointed his thumb at the other man. He looked a few years younger and had black hair. "That's my cousin Paul. Paulie! Get over here and say hello."
During this time, Fry's new instincts kicked in and he moved to hide behind Leela's boot. Something in his kitty brain told him these two were not to be trusted and they were the same parts that told him to stay away from Bender and Zoidberg when he was alone. Paul spotted him and leaned down with his hand out, probably just to pet him. The beast dropped flat to the floor with his ears back and growled, causing the man to pull away quickly. "Yeesh, he's an affectionate little one."
Leela reached down and the end result was the tabby arching his back into her hand. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you. He only seems to like me." She straightened and frowned in the apartment's direction. "I guess this means no more Sunday lunches. We always had such a good time, too."
"Not unless you feel like going up to Montreal every week," Spencer said. "It was nice of you and your boyfriend to visit her so often though. Keep the old gal company."
The young woman shook her head. "I don't have a boyfriend. That's sort of...pending." She glanced down at Fry and sighed heavily, once again regretting her hesitant nature. We had an opening that night. I just had to ask for time, didn't I? Dammit, why does he have to be so understanding?
"So, it's just you and a couple of pets?" Paul asked her.
"Yeah. And by tomorrow it might just be one. If Nibbler gets worse I'll have to take him to the vet." The small critter cooed pitifully and she cuddled him, then she covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. "I think he got into the garbage."
"Well, don't let us keep you," Spencer said. "We should get finished here anyway."
Leela nodded. "Nice meeting you...come on." The end of her sentence was aimed at Fry, who was snapped out of his paranoia and ran after her. When she got to the stairs, she turned back. "I'm in 1-I if you need help with anything."
Paul had already gone back inside, so his cousin answered her. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I think we'll be okay." She smiled tiredly and was soon out of sight. Paul came back to the door with a trash bag full of things. "What do you reckon?"
"Lives alone, comes home at..." Spencer checked his watch. "Almost seven thirty in the morning so she must work nights. No wonder she came by every week."
"So?"
"...Yeah, why not?"
Once in her own apartment, Leela walked into her bedroom and set Nibbler down on her pillow. Fry jumped up on the bed to get a better look at him. He didn't seem worse, but he didn't look any better either. Poor little guy. Purring softly, he began to nuzzle under the Eternian's chin. His way of saying 'thank you' was gnawing on the feline's ear weakly and making him grumble.
"Play nice you two," Leela called from the bathroom. "I don't want to have to go in there."
Fry broke away from Nibbler's grip and snorted. Yeah, you little garbage disposal. He dropped off the side of the bed and walking in on his 'master' washing her face. She had already changed, but what grabbed his attention was her sink. Instead of knobs for the water, there were two small pads like the buttons on a microwave and they seemed pressure sensitive.
Leela moved the edge of her towel down to look over it at the sound of bursts of water and saw the animal shoving at the buttons randomly. Her urge to laugh was overridden by her urge to see just how long he would keep it up. She had time to finish drying her face, hang her towel up, and pull the scrunchy from her hair while Fry amused himself. By then she couldn't take it anymore. "They charge for water you know."
He pulled back so fast he almost fell off the sink, but the smile on her face calmed him. After a few moments with her hands over her shoulders, she pulled her hair forward and Fry saw it was braided halfway down. That...doesn't look half bad. She finished her plait and ran the cat's tail through her fingers on her way out. She didn't see him shudder.
Leela was on her side in her bed by the time Fry followed her. Nibbler was snoring nasally near her chest. The radio was on in the background, so it must have acted as white noise for him. To Fry's delight, she was doing the one thing he had actually set up a plan for: checking her e-mail on her wrist thingy. He murred pleasurably and laid across her neck to get a good view of the small screen.
When he had set up that address, he only did it as a joke to get back at Leela for harping him about it. For two days it was all she would talk to him about, so he made the stupidest name he could think of to make it untraceable to him: Sharankar McDougan. He remembered this moniker when he was on the ship and hoped she wouldn't erase the message as spam. Luckily, he knew when she saw the subject. Her pulse went through the roof.
Re: What up?
"Fry." His new ears might have been the only reason he heard the whisper. He only wished he could keep track of where exactly she was, but his only clue was when she had to scroll down.
Hi Leela. I know you've got to be wondering where I went, but I'm okay. I wanted to give you some time and space to think. There was something else that came up too, so it wasn't just that. I don't want you to beat yourself up about this or think I'm trying to guilt trip you or something. You know I don't like staying away from you for too long, but I'll try to keep from bothering you as much as I can when I get back. How does Friday sound? If that's okay with you, sorry to say I can't really give a day for sure. If not, well I'm still going to try anyway.
Just remember even if you can't see me, I'm close by. If you need help with anything, I'll be there to help keep you safe. See you soon.
I love you, Leela
Fry
That whole letter had taken him a while to write, so he almost felt bad when she got through it so fast. There was an understandable tear running to her chin as she went back to make sure she caught every word. Fry didn't like having put her in that state, so when a guitar riff started he moved closer to the radio.
It wasn't anything he recognized, but he wasn't surprised when Leela smiled at it. "I love this song. Figures." With a tilt of his head, he gave the feline equivalent of a shrug and turned up the volume. It was an easygoing kind of tune and the first thing it made him think of was a beach.
Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
And now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some
I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
So intent was Fry's attention that he almost jumped when Leela reached out and silenced the music. Her wrist thing was dealt with next, set on her nightstand. She gave Nibbler an empathy filled glance and pulled her blanket up to her shoulder to cover them both. Still holding the edge up, she sort of wiggled it at the tabby. "Come on, bed time."
His green eyes narrowed. Something about that dark, small space looked so inviting and it had almost nothing to do with the fact that in that dark, small space the only thing between him and Leela would be a length of pink, sheer fabric. At another time it would have more to do with it, but his animal instincts had taken over again. So it was only the tiniest bit.
Whatever his motivation, the cat grabbed the lamp's pull chain in his teeth and jerked his head back. Without windows, the room was plunged into the kind of darkness that could have been nine at night or four in the morning and it took a second for his eyes to adjust. Once they did, he made sure to step around Nibbler as he walked into his own mini cave.
He flopped down, stretched out lazily, and then pushed against the mattress until he felt body heat spreading across his back. Leela felt around level with her stomach and eventually raked her fingers through the fur down his side. "That tickles." He could hear the smile on her face, so he squirmed a little more before settling down. She laughed, then patted his head. "Good night, Phil."
He yawned widely, then began to purr. Good night, Leela.
