It was just Bing, Red, and Green in the androids' shared room. The two Googles were working on some project in the corner, while Bing was at his computer with a pair of headphones on. He didn't usually work with music, but he'd gotten so sick of the duo's offhand comments toward him that he'd decided, fuck it, I'm not listening to this shit.

The Upgrades, upon realizing the older android couldn't hear them, had just rolled their eyes and started talking over their project instead.

Just then, Bing was multitasking. He had one chat window pulled up, Chase's icon for it clearly revealing who he was chatting with. Two other windows were for the building's security systems that he was working on repairing, and another for a blueprint he and Oliver had been working on together that he'd forgotten was open in the first place.

Rechecking the chat, Bing snorted. It momentarily drew the attention of the other two; they just shook their heads and returned to their own task.

'How the fuck did that happen?' the android sent.

'Marv and JJ! Fucked up a magic trick – Schneep's LIVID!'

Bing shook his head, chuckling as he changed tabs to check coding on the security footage. There must be a line broken somewhere for the cameras to be acting up so badly. He just had to figure out where the break was. Making it split-window so he could read while also keeping the chat up, Bing started replying to Chase without even looking at the keyboard or chat.

'They're not hurt, are they?'

'THEY'RE not but Jackie's got a broken collarbone now! And one of the Twins got a sprained wrist and the other a fractured knee.'

'…'Fractured knee'? You mean patella?' The pause between replies was almost nonexistent. The protectiveness over the Jims could almost be heard in Bing's reply, even. 'WAIT! How bad are the Twins?!'

'They'll be fine, man. But y'see why Schneep's so pissed?'

The android huffed. Schneeplestein wasn't the only one pissed off…

"Chatting with your boyfriend," Green sneered with a smirk. His voice was right next to Bing's ear, and he had the other android's headphones in one hand.

Where one of the more human Egos would have jumped and/or pulled a weapon, Bing just rolled his eyes and snatched his headphones back. "We're androids, Green," he muttered, "so I don't think we could date even if we wanted to."

"You couldn't, you mean." The sarcastic Google leaned on the older android's desk; effectively blocking Bing from his mouse and keyboard. Red, still off in the corner, grinned cockily. "You're too much of a coward to unblock all your emotions like the rest of us have to."

Bing tried, ineffectively, to shove Green away from his desk. "Seriously, dude. When was the last time I blocked 'em?"

Green cocked an eyebrow. "You always have anger blocked. At least somewhat." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, at the screen behind him. He had a smug grin that Bing really wanted to smack right off his face. "And I bet you won't let yourself feel love because you're afraid Brody would reject you."

"Chase and I aren't a 'thing', dumb-ass. We're friends. That's it." He crossed his arms, fingers tapping irritably. "Now get off my fuckin' desk so I can work." He wished Oliver was in there. They still made snarky comments, but at least they didn't approach Bing when the yellow Google was present. Unfortunately, he and Blue were trying to fix a problem in the conference room.

Green jabbed a finger at Bing's chest. "You should really watch your tongue."

"And you should really quit actin' like my superior, 'cause you're not, Green." He shoved the Upgrade's hand away. His own then found Green's shoulders, and he pulled the other android away from his desk, shoving him back toward Red. "Now leave me alone."

Headphones back on and shoulders sagging, Bing returned to his task.

'Hey, man. You free? Could really use you over here,' the android sent into the chat. Chase had gone idle, but hopefully he'd respond.

It wasn't long into when he'd found and fixed the coding break that his headphones were taken off again from behind.

"Would you knock it off?" he growled.

"Testy, testy," the Upgrade growled back. "Watch your tone, Default."

Red. Wonderful… Green was a lot better at the insults, but Red was the one who easily got physical. Tread carefully, he thought with head low.

"Dude. Could ya just let me work? I'm not even buggin' you guys."

Green was there again, stealing away Bing's sunglasses and staring him dead in the eye. When had he gotten in front of the computer again?

"Mark never should have created you," Green taunted. "What are you even good for?"

"Being a pain in the ass?" Red offered. Bing could just hear his smirk.

"And corrupting Oliver, maybe?" His hand found the older android's chest, scrunching the fabric of his shirt. "Isn't that right?"

Bing's eyes widened and he shook his head. He felt vulnerable without his sunglasses. "What! No—I—!"

Green pulled Bing closer just so he'd have more force behind the following shove; Bing stumbling backward and into Red. The temperamental Google grabbed his arms before he could pull away, holding him fast. He flinched when Green leaned closer. He could hear the Googles' cores rumbling, but he couldn't tell if it was in anger or mockery. Probably both.

He wouldn't meet the other android's green eyes; instead watching the spot on the floor where his sunglasses had been tossed aside. One of the temples was bent and glass cracked. His shoulders sagged about at much as they could in Red's grasp.

"If Mark hadn't created you," Green growled; Bing could feel the hot vents coming from the Upgrade's mouth against his face, "then Oliver wouldn't act so human. Like you. Like a malfunction."

"I act human because of Oliver," Bing countered. But his voice was soft, weak. "You just," he whined when Red's hands tightened painfully around his arms, "y-you just take it out on me 'cause you can't hate another Upgrade."

Green rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Right."

Bing shouted when one arm was twisted behind his back. It was only then that he started struggling to pull away. Red could and would hurt him. "Let me go!" The hands didn't budge. If anything, they just tightened further. "Please!" The older android could hear his shoulder creaking. "Dude! You're gonna break my arm!"

The red Google just snorted. "That's the point." He emphasized that last word with a final twist; far more forceful with it than necessary. The sound of metal snapping could be heard, and Bing hissed through clenched teeth. He couldn't—wouldn't—give them the satisfaction of crying out. But it hurt…

"Let me go," he whined, voice wavering at the pain his sensors were picking up. He'd stopped struggling entirely and just sort of slumped where Red held him up on his feet.

He hit the ground when the Google shoved him, barely managing to catch himself with one arm. The other just hung uselessly at his side. He didn't know the damage to it, but he couldn't move it and it hurt like a fucker. Great. It was pinching nerve-sensors.

"Default piece of shit." He didn't know, nor care, which of them said it.

Bing just pulled himself to his feet, clutching his arm and grinding his teeth. "Douche-bags," he growled softly. He retreated from the room before either of them could react to the insult.

So they call him a coward for blocking emotions, then turn right around and do that? And they wondered why he used to keep them blocked. Synthetic tears slipped from his eyes; he couldn't tell if they were from the pain, or if the Upgrades' mockery was getting to him. He shook his head, then turned it to wipe his cheeks on his shoulders.

The android knew where he was going, so he kept his head low and eyes to the floor.

That…didn't work so well when he wound up running into a pristine white door. Bing stood there a moment, blinking slowly and just staring at the door. Shouldn't this be an open hall? When it finally dawned on him why he'd run into it, his core rumbled. "Incorporated!" One of the nearby lights flickered, and Bing glared at it. "Doc can't do anything about this—I'm an android. Now leave me alone!" The building just creaked at the demand.

Bing growled and backpedaled. He kept backing up until he could no longer see around the corner he'd already gone around, then tried again.

This time, instead of the door to the clinic, the hall he'd been expecting to find was there. He went to the end of it, then turned into the next massive hall. He continued the pattern with ease, though did have to backpedal twice more when the building tried sending him to another location. Once more to the clinic, and the second time to the Door that would take him to the Septics' building.

Despite Egos, Inc.'s interruptions, the android eventually found what he'd been searching for: A small side-hall. The only room in it being a supply closet and thus, few ever entered the hall. The only reason Incorporated didn't simply remove the hall from its layout was because Bing used it. A lot. He'd go there when he could no longer stand being around the others—namely Blue, Red, and Green.

He opened the supply closet, grimacing when the door bumped his arm, and dragged out a rather large, heavy box he'd stashed inside.

Fortunately—or was it unfortunately?—he was pretty well-versed in the art of repairing oneself.

Bing removed the synthetic flesh from his damaged arm with ease; peeling it off as if it were a glove after he'd cut it free around around the shoulder. Now came the fun part: Actual repairs. He'd need to replace broken metal, wiring, and an oil line—great. He wished the damage was at his forearm instead. At least then his neck didn't get stiff trying to look at his shoulder. And those pinched sensors would be a bitch to deal with.

By the time Chase and Oliver found Bing, he was barely conscious. The building had led them straight to him, shortening halls to make their route as short as possible, flickering the light in Bing's hall until they'd noticed it and stumbled across him.

"What's wrong with him?" Chase asked as he knelt at Bing's side.

Oliver was silent as he looked the damaged shoulder over. "Sensory overload from pain-receptors. He should have had someone repair this right away! The location of damage is in a hard-to-reach location, sensors are caught between broken metal, and he very well could have crashed his CPU. He—"

"Oliver," Chase cut in. "Just, please, fix him. I really don't want to know what could've happened if we hadn't come lookin'."

The yellow Google just nodded. "Hold him to your chest. If he starts powering on further, keep him still until he can remove the tools from his shoulder."

"What'll ya do?"

Behind his glasses, Oliver's bright yellow eyes met Chase's blue. "I suggest you avert your eyes if you're queasy." Chase just quirked a brow. "The underlying structure is damaged. I can't reach it unless I remove the arm entirely."

At that, Chase's face paled. The android just gave him a 'told you so' look.

"I could, of course, wait to remove it until getting him back to our room, but that would bring risk of broken edges causing more damage."

"J-just get it off, man."

Bing had completely lost consciousness before Oliver even brought the first tool to his arm. And aside from the occasional gag from Chase, the removal went without incident.

"His attempted repair caused part of the damage," the yellow Google mumbled. His tone wasn't scolding though; more sad than anything. Chase furrowed his brows, but Oliver just shook his head. "I'd thought they were done with this. But the lack of dust on Bing's 'secret repair stash' says otherwise."

"Who?" He knew perfectly well who. It was more instinct to ask than anything.

"Red and Green. They're not unlike schoolyard bullies toward Bing; with both physical and verbal beatings."

Chase's face darkened and he instinctively pulled the unconscious android tighter against his chest. "I-I'll fuckin'—"

"You won't do anything. Blue will handle this as needed."

"Blue hates Bing!"

"Blue doesn't hate any of the Ipliers, and he draws the line at physical injury toward Bing. He at least somewhat acknowledges the fact Bing is one of us, even if he can be verbally abusive toward him." Oliver stood, taking the detached arm with him. "Can you lift him?"

Chase nodded weakly. The androids were far beyond any human technology, so at least they were light for their sizes and the fact they were metal. He carried Bing bridal-style, with Oliver close at his side. The building didn't interfere this time, well aware they were trying to drag out their time in reaching the androids' room.

"You…think he'll be all right?"

Oliver turned his head away with a sigh. "Physically, he'll fully recover. Probably be up and about by tomorrow, even. Mentally? I-I don't know. It would depend on what they said to him." He shook his head, and Chase jumped when his core rumbled angrily. "I-I'm sure Red made Default comments. He always does, but Bing's gotten so used to those… And Green? I…I'm afraid for what he might have said. He's far more clever than Red at wording things so they really hurt."

Chase frowned. "And he's sarcastic as hell. Even when he's tryin' to hang out and be buddy-buddy with the rest of us, he can be a jackass without even realizing."

"Exactly. It will fully depend on what Green decided to target this time as to how badly it hurt Bing." Oliver went to cross his arms, but stopped short when he remembered the detached limb in his hand. He blinked at it, then lowered it to his side again. "Once I've got him repaired, it may be best for you to take him to Central for a while. You Septics tend to be a lot nicer than a lot of us, and he needs that." He smiled weakly. "Besides. Your kids always cheer him up, right?"

Chase chuckled a little. It sounded forced. "Yeah, they do." He glanced down at Bing. The Septic knew he was powered off now, but he looked just like any of the more human Egos did when they slept: Eyes closed, face relaxed. "How…was his arm broken so badly? I mean, it must be bad if you had to remove it, right? Wasn't it just broken?"

Oliver lifted the arm, studying where the 'humerus' would connect to the shoulder. A shudder passed through Chase's spine and he turned his head away. "If I'm to guess—and I'm sure that guess is correct—Red broke it. You know his abilities, Chase. He knows the exact percent of pressure he'd need to just barely crack a bone in one of you. I'm sure he purposefully went far beyond what would be a regular break in Bing's arm, just because he could. Any more force and he could've taken Bing's arm off."

The Septic's face paled. "H-he could do that?"

Oliver shifted the arm to his other hand, his body now at least somewhat blocking it from Chase's view. "Chase. We're androids. We've got inhuman strength and intelligence. Tearing off a limb—even from another android—would be a piece of cake. Red likely went just a percent under what would have completely snapped it off."

Shaking his head, Chase's grip on the powered-down android tightened. He and Oliver had always been protective toward Bing. He could tell by the rumbling of the yellow Google's core and just how brightly his eyes glowed that he was as upset as Chase. Neither of them had been there to help Bing, and he'd gotten hurt because of it.

Chase couldn't help a pang of guilt. He'd left his computer to play a game with his kids; hadn't seen Bing's message until three hours later because he hadn't checked the chat.

He started when Oliver placed a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be all right. It will just take time, and his…ah, 'heart', will be bruised for a long time."

A nod. Chase shifted his arms a little so he held Bing more securely. "In a way, all of ours are, man."

Bing was up and about by the next day. Oliver had done such a good job with repairs that Bing could only tell his arm had been damaged by the fading stiffness at the shoulder. The yellow Google had even had time to craft a new pair of sunglasses for him, and Bing was appreciative that they were an exact replica of his old pair.

Now, the android was at the Septics' place and Green and Red were getting an earful from Blue.

Bing was grinning as he watched Chase chase his kids around the living room as the android leaned against the wall. Honestly, the father had just as much energy as them, and it was heartwarming to see the three of them laughing and just being carefree like that.

Jackieboy and Marvin were seated on the couch together. While one of Jackie's arms was in a sling until his clavicle healed from whatever magic mishap had happened yesterday, the magician was wrapped around the other one. They were talking quietly with bright smiles and the occasional laugh.

In the connected kitchen, the android could see Schneep and Anti chatting over coffee—it seemed a little late for coffee, but to each their own. The doctor started waving one hand around enthusiastically, while the glitch just rolled his eyes and thumped Schneep in the head with the book he'd been holding. The doctor stood in stunned silence for a moment, then the two of them started laughing.

Bing's grin shrunk a little. Why couldn't the Ipliers be more like this?

"Hey, man. You all right?"

The android blinked at Chase. The single father was now right in front of him. When had he gotten there, and had Bing really been that badly spaced out not to notice?

It was easy to summon his grin back. "Yeah, dude! Just…thinking."

He let out a little noise of protest when Chase grabbed his wrist and guided him to the second, unoccupied, couch. He did allow himself to be seated, while the Septic perched himself on the armrest to Bing's left. The android met Jackie's eyes momentarily. The hero's grin seemed to widen, but then he turned right back to Marvin and they talked in hushed tones. The android got the gnawing feeling they knew something he didn't.

"What's buggin' ya dude? Really?" Chase's voice brought Bing's attention back to him.

Bing just shrugged. "I…guess I've just got a lotta stuff on my mind."

Chase pulled his cap off, seemingly without realizing it, and started wringing it in his hands. It was a nervous tic of his, but what did he have to be nervous about? "Dude. Y'know you can talk to me," he gestured to the building in general, "any of us, really! So what's buggin' you?"

Bing opened his mouth, but stopped when Chase's youngest, Sophie, skipped over. She tugged at her father's shirt, then whispered in his ear. Well. Tried to whisper. Bing picked it up pretty easy, and Jackie looked somewhat alarmed; cuing that he'd heard, too.

"Are you gonna do it?"

Whatever she meant, Chase chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Maybe. We'll see, okay?" She nodded, then scampered back to her brother.

"She's grown since I saw her last," Bing noted. He wondered if, since she was a Figment, she'd stop growing at a child's age or actually grow into an adult. Depended on the fans, he guessed.

"Like a weed," Chase said fondly. "Y'know…the kids are worried 'bout you, man."

"Me?" He sounded skeptical. Sure, he adored the kids; but they knew he was an android. Why would they have to worry about him? "How come?"

"'How come?' Dude! They love you!" A deep frown fell over his face. Bing wasn't sure he liked that look for Chase; it looked unnatural. "When they first heard what Green and Red do to ya, Sophie started cryin'. And I'd never seen Ky so mad at someone as he was with them." The Septic turned his head away. He'd started wringing at his hat so vigorously Bing wondered how long it would be before the bill snapped. "Those two've gotten really bad toward you. We're worried about you."

The android opened his mouth, but was effectively silenced when Chase leaned down from his perch. One hand had come up to the side of Bing's face, and the android felt their lips barely brushing. Chase had a blush quickly creeping across his face. "The more they do or say to you, the more I worry. It…it's not healthy for you to be around those two so often."

"I—" What could he say? Bing was effectively dumbstruck, eyes wide and everything.

"…Bing?" Chase sounded worried now. The other Septics had tensed, too. It was like the entire room held its breath, waiting for the android's response.

It was only when Bing's expression relaxed that the rest of them did, too. He reached up, a hand on Chase's neck, and leaned back in; snagging the Septic's lips with his own. Chase's blush deepened when he noticed the purring coming from Bing's core, but he happily returned the kiss.

He didn't regret making the first move in the slightest.

The pair didn't seem to notice Schneep and Anti leaning in to whisper to each other with smiles, or Jackie's dumb grin, or the fact that Marvin's face had turned red and he'd buried it in the superhero's shoulder with a smile of his own. Kyler was giggling, but trying to cover his mouth. A shrill, giddy squeal from his sister made the pair jump and pull apart, unfortunately; eyes wide and set on her.

"I knew it!" she squeaked.