I Don't Know

Disclaimer: Matt Groening is the creator of this show. Not me. I only use the characters, settings and other such things.

Summary: A phone call leaves Leela with more questions than answers. Set during My Three Suns. Leela x Bender

Author note: So, as you can tell, this is Leela x Bender romance, so if anyone doesn't like it, then you can bite my shiny metal daffodil… no, I just kidding, if you really can't stand it, click the Back button, okay?

… … … …

Leela kicked at Fry's picture on the punching bag, pretending it was him. She just couldn't believe how inconsiderate he was being by risking his life to be an emperor to a planet that he didn't even know had existed a day ago. Obviously, he must have figured that he didn't need anyone to look after him, probably only realizing it after she was always telling him what to do.

That jerk, she thought angrily, won't last a minute without me there to protect him.

Truth be told, Leela was more upset than mad at Fry. Beforehand, the captain believed that he was above being egotistical and bigheaded, but now that he was emperor, it brought out a lot of emotions that she never seen before in the usually happy-go-lucky delivery boy. He was condescending and rude and, what was more, he was making up random speeches about things that had nothing to do with the current topic.

Subconsciously, she remembered using those words to describe Zapp Brannigan, the captain of the Nimbus and intergalactic war hero.

And the biggest idiot in the whole universe, in her personal opinion; but then again Leela might have been a little biased, considering he "tricked" her into sleeping with him, and still thinks that she likes him. She scoffed at that idea. There was no way in Hell that she would get back together with him, even if he was the last man on Earth.

Vaguely, the captain wondered if perhaps this Fry, the one who had frighteningly similar qualities to that blonde jerk, was the real Fry. They had only met a few months ago, so what if he was merely masquerading as a naïve simpleton only to get closer to her? What if, the man she knew was just another person who was pretending to be something they weren't? What if it was all a huge mistake being friends with him?

Punching at the picture of the redhead she worked with, Leela realized that these memories were only just making her more enraged. Glaring at the photo intensely, she started kicking and punching it harder, wishing that all these confusing questions would leave her alone.

Suddenly, the phone rang next to her, making Leela stop attacking the punching bag for a moment. She hoped it was anybody but Fry; all of these suspicions would have only been amplified if his smug face mocking her, telling her, "I don't need you at all. You're worthless to me."

"Collect call from…" the operator prompted, only to be replied by a rough voice that definitely didn't belong to Fry.

"I'm not giving my name to a machine."

A little bit relieved that it was only Bender, she answered, "I'll accept."

Shortly thereafter, a picture of the gray robot appeared on the telephone screen. There wasn't anyone around him, so she assumed that the others were probably celebrating Fry's coronation. While she was angered at that idea, seeing her co-worker, the least sensitive of them all, leaving the party (and the free beer) to talk to her made her feel slightly better.

"Fry's in trouble and he needs help."

Trying her best not to roll her eye at her ex-friend's predicament, Leela waited for him to go on. Normally, she would have just disconnected the call, just so she could get back to fighting against the solid piece of wool and leather and thinking "I told him so". But for some unknown reason because it was Bender, she didn't hang up on him. A weird feeling came over her, and she actually felt like talking to her alcoholic friend.

"Now, I don't like you and you don't like me," the bending unit continued, still looking quite serious.

And, either because she was shocked at his statement, or it was because she didn't want her hopes of a decent conversation with Bender (a rare thing, indeed) going downhill, or because she was just a lonely and hormonal woman whose emotions were hurt by a close companion of hers, the cyclops blurted out something truly unexpected.

"I like you."

For a moment, he looked completely baffled and then said, "You do?"

"Look, are you going to help or not?" Bender carried on, his interest in the current discussion instantly piqued after she said those words.

"I don't know why I should. I mean, after what he -," Leela responded in a tone that meant she was going to talk for a long time about why she should go. Before the captain could go on, however, was interrupted from her speech by the robot, who must have sensed what was about to happen next.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," the robot butted in, effectively silencing the cyclops. Crossing his legs and tapping where his chin would be, a devious smirk could be seen on his face as he asked, "What is it you like best about me?"

Leela didn't anticipate this particular turn in the conversation, and, naturally, said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"… What?"

Bender straightened up, to look at her more clearly. She seemed a little shocked at his question, which made him roll his eyes - or whatever the robot equivalent was to an eye-roll - and he wondered if all human females were this forgetful.

"You just said you liked me. Well, I wanna know what it is that finds me so likeable to you," the bending unit countered, unusually determined to find out why he was liked by her. In his terms, being liked by Leela, the bossy one who always yelled at him for leaving cigar ash in the spaceship, was something very intriguing indeed.

"Well, uh…" she mumbled, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

Leela didn't really mean it like that. She only said it to clarify that his dislike was one-sided, and therefore that his comment was pretty stupid thing to say when it wasn't true. It was meant to be a snappy comeback, although in retrospect it wasn't quite so snappy, as she actually did hold a certain respect for him. Though, it wasn't like she was infatuated with him or anything… was she?

"I can see why it's so hard for you to pinpoint one of my various loveable qualities," he unknowingly disrupted her train of thought, while examining his fingers with a bored expression. "There are so many things that make me, Bender, quite attractive. Right, Leela?"

The cyclops gave him a dirty look, and said, "Hey, I said I liked you, but that doesn't mean I think you're attractive."

"Oh, really? Well, how come when I saw you with that tasteless lime-green tank-top while I was watching T.V., you said I was cute?" he retorted, looking at her in a weird way, not unlike the one the she saw sometimes when she caught Fry staring at her with a dazed look.

Thinking back, Leela swiftly pointed out, with a hand on her hip, "I said it was cute that you liked cooking. Not you, the concept of you cooking."

"… Oh, so you find the thought of me cooking strangely adorable?" Bender queried, just as swiftly as her.

"No!" she shouted. Although this was one of the uncommon times where he wouldn't talk about how undesirable her life was compared to his (what with his being filled to the brim with booze, money and hookerbots), his incessant pestering was getting on her nerves and especially after her fight with Fry, she didn't think she could talk to the bending unit for another minute without crying out in frustration or something just as drastic.

So, as usual, she told him the first thing that came into her head.

Well, actually, it was more like she screamed it at him.

"I like you because of your stupid in-your-face attitude, okay? I mean, you don't give a damn what anyone thinks about you! You lie, cheat, steal and drink without a single care in the world! It's like…" Leela paused for a moment, trying to think why, out of all the alcoholic, sleazy robots that were built, she liked him the most.

"It's like there's nothing you can't handle…" she finished, looking away from Bender and taking a sudden interest at the floor, instead. If she saw him now, then he would get all of the satisfaction at seeing her in such a state. And, Leela being who she was, she was resolute in not giving him that satisfaction so easily.

"Hmm…" he grunted, thoughtful after her lengthy tirade of words. The gray robot reckoned that her fight with Fry must have left the usually calm-headed captain a little bit… crazier than usual. Now with his curiousity quenched, he remembered that Fry still needed to be saved from those liquid Trisolians before it was too late.

"Well… I guess I gotta go and save Fry and all that stuff… but, ya know what, Leela?" Bender asked the downtrodden alien.

"What?" she replied, trying her best to stay strong in front of him, so that maybe a bit of her authority might be spared rather than letting him know she was subconsciously offloading the desires that plagued her mind of what she wanted to be. Envy was also added to the mix, jealous that robots couldn't feel this way; unwanted and alone.

"If I didn't care about what you thought of me, then I am still here?" he questioned, looking at her with something that could have been recognized as sincerity, even if it was only a little bit of it.

Glancing back up, she saw him for only a second before the end call symbol showed up.

But it only took a second to know that he wasn't faking about that last query.

Leela stood up and hurriedly exited the spaceship, carrying some rope and wearing a small smile. Even though there were so many questions unanswered because of that discussion, there was something even greater at stake. The life of a friend.

Analyzing the conversation and pondering about those questions could wait until later.

Right now, she had an idiot to save and a robot to thank.

… … … …

Amy turned to the bending unit who just came through the door, worry in her eyes.

"Is she coming?"

Bender looked indifferent, but he knew that she would come to her senses… eventually. Hell, that talk he gave to her would've straightened her out. Wouldn't it?

"I'm not sure. But I do know she likes my in-your-face attitude."

END

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So, there you go, folks. My first Futurama fanfic and my first Bender x Leela story. What can I say, I like the dynamics of this couple and there are so many hints in the show if you can spot them. I chose this one and kind of went with it, so please excuse the semi-out-of-character-ness of both Bender and Leela.

Thanks for reading!