Fry awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of tapping on his bedroom window. He got up to open it.
"Bender?" He asked in surprise.
The shiny metal robot clambered in from the window sill and jumped onto Fry's floor with a thud. He wiped the dust off his metal hands before speaking.
"Sorry to wake you buddy, but the RoboCops are after me again. They think I'm hiding illegal Algerian whiskey in my apartment."
"Are you?"
Bender opened his torso and took out a bottle of whiskey; he took a long swig from it, burped, then returned it to his torso. "Nope. Damn Robotists always going after innocent robots. Mind if I crash here tonight?"
"Be my guest" Fry shrugged, and the robot jumped into his bed in thanks. Fry pulled the blanket from the bed and took it to a nearby couch, setting it down and snuggling underneath. A few minutes passed and Fry was just drifting off back to sleep again, when a loud knock on the door startled them both.
"Wha wha-" Bender sat up in bed, locking eyes with Fry on the couch who had done the same. Bender leapt off the bed and huddled into a nearby closet, gesturing for Fry to go get it. Fry, rubbing his eyes in sleepiness, slowly dragged himself to the door.
"Leela, what are you doing here?" Fry's eyes snapped wide awake at the sight of the beautiful woman. "Hello Fry. This isn't a bad time, is it?" Leela asked in a small voice. "No, of course not. Come on in" He said, giving his friend a wide berth to enter. She walked in slowly, taking in the shadowy interior of Fry's apartment. Fry, suddenly aware of the pile of unwashed clothes lying on the floor, and the dirty dishes left carelessly on the coffee table, felt his face grow hot. "Sorry it's such a dump, I guess I was too pooped yesterday to clean up. Here-" He shifted the blanket off the couch where he had been about to sleep moments ago. "You can sit down if you like." Leela smiled in appreciation and took a seat on the couch. Fry stood around for a few seconds, then awkwardly sat down next to her, taking care to maintain a respectful distance. He held his sweaty hands together in his lap, wondering what had brought the pretty woman into his apartment in the middle of the night. Not that he cared. It was nice to be near her.
"Fry, I didn't know who else to talk to about this. I was going to go to Amy, but she's out visiting her parents on Mars. And we both know Bender's kind of a jerk –"
"Ay!" Fry and Leela swung their heads around to the muffled cry which came out of Fry's closet. Leela turned to Fry in questioning; his shook his head dismissively. "Don't worry, it's just –"
"Shhhhh" an insistent sound whistled out of the closet, interrupting him. In the moonlight Fry could see Bender shaking his head from inside the closet. He was slightly confused. Why wouldn't Bender want Leela to know he was there? He quickly dismissed the thought from his mind, taking in the pleasure of Leela's dark purple hair and sparkling eye glinting in the moonlight. He gave her a small smile, she returned the gesture; his heart thumped.
"I'm here for you Leela. You know you can tell me anything, and I'll try to help you in any way I can."
Leela tilted her head at one side, feeling a wave of gratitude for this sweet dumb kid. She knew she could trust him, as stupid as he was, and the thought comforted her. She took a deep breath, preparing to lay on him the awful news which had been haunting her for several days.
"Well, ok. You know how my parents are hideous mutant freaks who have to live underground because the sight of them will make any normal human want to puke their guts out?"
"Uh huh." Fry didn't know why she was relaying common knowledge to her. But wow, her lips looked pretty in the dark. Luscious.
"And you know how they used up their only visit to the surface last September to come see me at the museum of history but I couldn't because I was busy being a superhero and saving the city with you and Bender?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"You know it!" A small voice echoed from the closet, followed by a burp. Fry glanced at the closet briefly, but Leela did not seem to hear it.
"Well, ever since then I've been feeling guilty about them not ever being able to see the surface because of me. And well, my job here at Planet express has always kept me busy above ground, so I hardly ever get to visit them. Do you see what I'm trying to say, Fry?"
Fry was gazing into her face, mesmerized. He blinked when she repeated his name. "Fry?"
"Oh, uh, sorry, I was distracted for a moment there. You were saying?"
Leela sighed sadly, looking down. Her slender fingers toyed with the ends of her silky purple locks, something Fry had never seen her do before. His eyes suddenly narrowed, focusing on her. Something was wrong. Something had happened.
"I… I've handed in my resignation. As of next week, I'll no longer be the captain on the crew of Planet Express. I'm going to go home and live the rest of my life underground with my parents."
A thick silence immediately choked the room; Fry was speechless.
"Don't tell anyone though" Leela broke it a few moments later, looking Fry straight in the eyes. "Not until all the papers have been finalized. The professor says it may take a few days. Oh Fry, tell me, do you think I am making the right decision?"
Her eyes were imploring his for reassurance; what could Fry say? "Yes. Of course, you want to be with your parents. "
He felt her arms wrap around his neck, and for some reason couldn't take pleasure in the fact. His stomach felt like it did when he drank too much slurm juice.
"Thankyou Fry. I knew I could count on you. Well, I guess I'll go get my bags packed then. See you tomorrow for our last mission"
Her lips touched his cheek- or did they? Fry suddenly felt cold all over. Distantly, he acknowledged her leaving the apartment, the swish of the door sliding closed. The descending silence was violently shattered again as Bender collapsed out of the closet, his whiskey bottle smashing on the floor. Bender sobbed loudly; his cries echoing though the apartment. Fry didn't care. He heard Bender whining that that was his last bottle, and that Fry should help clean it up, but Fry's mind was too distracted to do anything other than lean forward, hold his head in his hands and stare blankly at the floor between his feet.
Leela. Leaving Planet Express. Going away to live underground with her parents. Away from him. Away from here.
Forever.
Fry didn't know what to think about that.