Author's Note: I'd like to thank Plunderer01 and Venus32 for their generous reviews. Enjoy the fan fic, Chapter 7 is coming soon.
Chapter Six – Misplaced Affections
Leela reclined on her bed, a calendar marked with Rodney's return date in her hands. He had been gone a mere three months and his absence was truly becoming torture. The daytime hours weren't any hugs ordeal. They were filled with the daily tasks needed to keep Planet Express up and running and the deliveries usually commanded all of her attention. She had no time to think of her personal life or Rodney.
It was the lonely nights like this that had become the problem. It hadn't been so bad in the beginning. Sure, she had missed Rodney terribly, but she had been able to reason with herself that she would adjust to his absence and that she would eventually manage on the sole knowledge that she would see him soon enough. After all, every day gone brought him one day closer to home. But it was difficult to keep that frame of mind at the end of the day. Sitting in an empty apartment with the lonely night stretching in front of her, it was easy to feel depressed and alone.
She glanced at the clock beside her bed. It was 2:20 AM. Glancing at the phone, she wondered if Fry was still awake.
----------------------------------------------------
Fry lay in his bed, looking up at the empty ceiling. It had been difficult, but he had decided to take the hands-off method with Leela. His previous persistence had seemed to drive her away and, just when he had thought he had lost it all, he accidentally found out that he had a second chance. Right then, he had vowed not to screw it up. A bit of advice from his brother Yancy had come to mind, "Let them come to you, bro." It was just about the only advice he had ever gotten from his brother and now he decided to put it to use. He would let Leela come to him.
But now, lying on his bed, he began to wonder if he had made the right choice. He had spent the past three months trying to unobtrusively "be there" for Leela during Rodney's absence. Unfortunately, she was still resistant to his friendly attempts at consolation. The only thing he had gotten from his brother's advice was three months of coming home and sitting on his bed, waiting for the phone to ring. It never did.
Contemplation of his own pathetic existence was slowly pulling him to sleep when a shrill ring jerked him back to consciousness. He jumped and it took him a moment to realize that it was the telephone. Trying to mask his excitement in feigned exhaustion, he answered the phone.
"Hello?" he said groggily.
There was silence on the line and for a moment he wondered if it was Bender making the call from some telephone booth with the goal of screwing with his mind and his emotions. He sighed and was about to hang up the phone when he heard her voice.
"Fry?" a small voice on the other line squeaked.
"Leela? Is that you?" he asked, trying to feign surprise as well. His own skill at acting was beginning to amuse him.
Again, there was silence.
"Leela, is there something wrong?"
"No...there's nothing wrong. I..uh...did I wake you Fry?"
Fry decided to be honest and try not to sound extremely pathetic, "Not really. I couldn't sleep anyway."
"Oh."
It was a risk and he knew it, but he decided to take the chance, "Leela, you sound like you could use a friend right about now. You wanna go get some coffee or something and talk?"
There was silence again and he was afraid that she was going to turn him down or worse that she had already hung up. He smiled at the outcome, though.
"Sure, Fry, I'd like that."
He smiled at his own ability to arrange this midnight rendezvous.
-------------------------------
She sat across from him in the little all night diner. Her head was bent down, her eye gazing at her own reflection in the steaming coffee before her. He glanced at her every once in a while, his eyes full of compassion. Once or twice she thought that she had spotted a slight smile forming on his lips. He pushed the last remaining bits of pie around on his plate. They had arrived a good hour earlier but, aside from a smiled greeting and a quick hug, neither of them had said more than a few words.
Leela looked up at him through her bangs. She felt a bit guilty for agreeing to come out this late. He looks so tired, she thought to herself, and yet he's here with me at 3:00 in the morning eating in a cheap little diner. He's even paying. But that was Fry's way with her. It always had been, she had always just taken his presence for granted. And tonight she would do it again.
Standing, she started to leave as Fry left the money for the check. They stood outside the diner for a few minutes, looking at the city lights.
"It's so beautiful out here at night," Fry said quietly.
Leela nodded silently, looking out at the New New York skyline. It really did have a kind of wild beauty about it, the kind that could make a person do anything. She smiled slightly to herself, knowing that later she would blame this night and her irrationality on the untamed beauty of that skyline. She touched Fry's hand lightly, letting her fingers slip between his. No words were exchanged; a simple smile from Leela told Fry all he needed to know.
They walked back to her apartment building and through the halls to Leela's room. The walk back had been a silent one, both focusing on the thoughts racing through their heads. They entered the room and Leela excused herself as she readied herself for bed. The clock read 3:35 AM.
Fry hung his jacket on the back of her desk chair, a fantasy of three months ago coming back to him briefly. This is how it was supposed to be that night, he thought to himself. But the fantasy brought with it the memory that Leela was promised to Rodney. He let is slide out of his mind. It's not like she's really engaged anyway, he reasoned with himself.
He heard a door open behind him and saw Leela standing there in tiny pajama shorts and a tank top that clung to all the right places. Her long hair fell in waves about her shoulders and her smile told Fry just exactly what she had planned for the night. He returned the smile as he found himself slightly rising to the occasion. For the second time in their relationship, Fry would wake up finding Leela in his arms.
She walked over to him. Her hips swayed gently, giving her upper body a graceful bounce. He smiled and took her in his arms. Her hands traced the outline of his jaw and lightly caressed his neck. Their faces were close enough now that he could smell the soft scent of her shampoo and feel the warmth of her breath on his neck. His heart raced as he leaned into a kiss.
In a frenzy of kisses and soft caresses, they made their way to the bed. Looking down at her, he knew this would be a night he wouldn't soon forget. His hands clasped hers as he leaned into another kiss. He stopped short at the feel of the cool metal on Leela's hand. The ring was a painful but constant reminder of her misplaced affections for him. He knew then that, though it wasn't a night he would soon forget, it would be a night that he would regret in the morning and one that would surely put him out of Leela's life forever. He knew that he couldn't let that happen.
He leaned closer to her still, letting his lips graze hers. His mouth against hers, he told her, "Let me hold you Leela. That's all I want, to hold you as you fall asleep in my arms."
To his relief, she didn't protest and as he lay by her, she cuddled into his chest. Her breathing was soon even. Fry looked down at the sleeping angel. He lightly pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. Looking at the clock, it was 4:30. He kissed her forehead and slid his arm from under her head. He covered her with a nearby blanket and stood to look at her for a moment before he turned to leave.
As he opened the door, he turned off the light and whispered into the darkness, "I love you, Leela." At 4:45, Fry was making the walk down the dark New New York Streets to his own home in Bender's closet. Looking up at the skyline, he smiled to himself. It truly was a beautiful night.
Chapter Six – Misplaced Affections
Leela reclined on her bed, a calendar marked with Rodney's return date in her hands. He had been gone a mere three months and his absence was truly becoming torture. The daytime hours weren't any hugs ordeal. They were filled with the daily tasks needed to keep Planet Express up and running and the deliveries usually commanded all of her attention. She had no time to think of her personal life or Rodney.
It was the lonely nights like this that had become the problem. It hadn't been so bad in the beginning. Sure, she had missed Rodney terribly, but she had been able to reason with herself that she would adjust to his absence and that she would eventually manage on the sole knowledge that she would see him soon enough. After all, every day gone brought him one day closer to home. But it was difficult to keep that frame of mind at the end of the day. Sitting in an empty apartment with the lonely night stretching in front of her, it was easy to feel depressed and alone.
She glanced at the clock beside her bed. It was 2:20 AM. Glancing at the phone, she wondered if Fry was still awake.
----------------------------------------------------
Fry lay in his bed, looking up at the empty ceiling. It had been difficult, but he had decided to take the hands-off method with Leela. His previous persistence had seemed to drive her away and, just when he had thought he had lost it all, he accidentally found out that he had a second chance. Right then, he had vowed not to screw it up. A bit of advice from his brother Yancy had come to mind, "Let them come to you, bro." It was just about the only advice he had ever gotten from his brother and now he decided to put it to use. He would let Leela come to him.
But now, lying on his bed, he began to wonder if he had made the right choice. He had spent the past three months trying to unobtrusively "be there" for Leela during Rodney's absence. Unfortunately, she was still resistant to his friendly attempts at consolation. The only thing he had gotten from his brother's advice was three months of coming home and sitting on his bed, waiting for the phone to ring. It never did.
Contemplation of his own pathetic existence was slowly pulling him to sleep when a shrill ring jerked him back to consciousness. He jumped and it took him a moment to realize that it was the telephone. Trying to mask his excitement in feigned exhaustion, he answered the phone.
"Hello?" he said groggily.
There was silence on the line and for a moment he wondered if it was Bender making the call from some telephone booth with the goal of screwing with his mind and his emotions. He sighed and was about to hang up the phone when he heard her voice.
"Fry?" a small voice on the other line squeaked.
"Leela? Is that you?" he asked, trying to feign surprise as well. His own skill at acting was beginning to amuse him.
Again, there was silence.
"Leela, is there something wrong?"
"No...there's nothing wrong. I..uh...did I wake you Fry?"
Fry decided to be honest and try not to sound extremely pathetic, "Not really. I couldn't sleep anyway."
"Oh."
It was a risk and he knew it, but he decided to take the chance, "Leela, you sound like you could use a friend right about now. You wanna go get some coffee or something and talk?"
There was silence again and he was afraid that she was going to turn him down or worse that she had already hung up. He smiled at the outcome, though.
"Sure, Fry, I'd like that."
He smiled at his own ability to arrange this midnight rendezvous.
-------------------------------
She sat across from him in the little all night diner. Her head was bent down, her eye gazing at her own reflection in the steaming coffee before her. He glanced at her every once in a while, his eyes full of compassion. Once or twice she thought that she had spotted a slight smile forming on his lips. He pushed the last remaining bits of pie around on his plate. They had arrived a good hour earlier but, aside from a smiled greeting and a quick hug, neither of them had said more than a few words.
Leela looked up at him through her bangs. She felt a bit guilty for agreeing to come out this late. He looks so tired, she thought to herself, and yet he's here with me at 3:00 in the morning eating in a cheap little diner. He's even paying. But that was Fry's way with her. It always had been, she had always just taken his presence for granted. And tonight she would do it again.
Standing, she started to leave as Fry left the money for the check. They stood outside the diner for a few minutes, looking at the city lights.
"It's so beautiful out here at night," Fry said quietly.
Leela nodded silently, looking out at the New New York skyline. It really did have a kind of wild beauty about it, the kind that could make a person do anything. She smiled slightly to herself, knowing that later she would blame this night and her irrationality on the untamed beauty of that skyline. She touched Fry's hand lightly, letting her fingers slip between his. No words were exchanged; a simple smile from Leela told Fry all he needed to know.
They walked back to her apartment building and through the halls to Leela's room. The walk back had been a silent one, both focusing on the thoughts racing through their heads. They entered the room and Leela excused herself as she readied herself for bed. The clock read 3:35 AM.
Fry hung his jacket on the back of her desk chair, a fantasy of three months ago coming back to him briefly. This is how it was supposed to be that night, he thought to himself. But the fantasy brought with it the memory that Leela was promised to Rodney. He let is slide out of his mind. It's not like she's really engaged anyway, he reasoned with himself.
He heard a door open behind him and saw Leela standing there in tiny pajama shorts and a tank top that clung to all the right places. Her long hair fell in waves about her shoulders and her smile told Fry just exactly what she had planned for the night. He returned the smile as he found himself slightly rising to the occasion. For the second time in their relationship, Fry would wake up finding Leela in his arms.
She walked over to him. Her hips swayed gently, giving her upper body a graceful bounce. He smiled and took her in his arms. Her hands traced the outline of his jaw and lightly caressed his neck. Their faces were close enough now that he could smell the soft scent of her shampoo and feel the warmth of her breath on his neck. His heart raced as he leaned into a kiss.
In a frenzy of kisses and soft caresses, they made their way to the bed. Looking down at her, he knew this would be a night he wouldn't soon forget. His hands clasped hers as he leaned into another kiss. He stopped short at the feel of the cool metal on Leela's hand. The ring was a painful but constant reminder of her misplaced affections for him. He knew then that, though it wasn't a night he would soon forget, it would be a night that he would regret in the morning and one that would surely put him out of Leela's life forever. He knew that he couldn't let that happen.
He leaned closer to her still, letting his lips graze hers. His mouth against hers, he told her, "Let me hold you Leela. That's all I want, to hold you as you fall asleep in my arms."
To his relief, she didn't protest and as he lay by her, she cuddled into his chest. Her breathing was soon even. Fry looked down at the sleeping angel. He lightly pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. Looking at the clock, it was 4:30. He kissed her forehead and slid his arm from under her head. He covered her with a nearby blanket and stood to look at her for a moment before he turned to leave.
As he opened the door, he turned off the light and whispered into the darkness, "I love you, Leela." At 4:45, Fry was making the walk down the dark New New York Streets to his own home in Bender's closet. Looking up at the skyline, he smiled to himself. It truly was a beautiful night.