"Oh, come the hell on!" Bender whined. "You're not stretching my arms and legs like I'm a goddamn Slinky!"
"People do it, lemmings do it, so what makes a robot any different?" Crow asked.
"I just don't want people man-handling my arms and legs. And it hurts!"
"Bender, that's the second time you've said it hurts. Plus, we have no other choice. We are not spending the night here because it's dangerous. I don't want Farnsworth and the rest of Planet Express going on a search party, either." Crow said gravely, looking at the ticked off robot. He felt like if the crew saw the two of them together, they would be slammed with questions. "I can't carry you all the way up to the TTS, either." Crow felt like Bender was more human than machine whenever they made physical contact with one another. His cold exterior was something that he adored more than anything. The occasional moments Bender's arm rested on his shoulder and the countless times they high-fived after a successful delivery reinforced this. Crow longed to hold Bender in his arms, even if it was for a split second. He harbored immense love for the drunken, choleric, lustful Bender and hated himself for it. "Let me help you." He implored, pushing down the feelings of guilt. "Just this once."
"You're not getting any sentimental bullcrap outta me, if that's what you're trying to do." He bitched, masking his awareness of Crow's callback from earlier.
"What in God's name are you talking about?" Crow laughed at his preposterous outburst.
Bender went quiet, suppressing his vocalization that he wanted his assistance in some way. Come to think of it, there was a lot about his co-worker that he didn't want to acknowledge or disclose. Having been reassembled by him wasn't much help for his conflicting feelings about the lemming, who since the incident was repulsively sweet to him. The Planet Express employees were dealing with their feelings in completely different ways: one accepting it (albeit shamefully), and one doing everything in their power to reject it. The latter was failing miserably, falling right back into his contemplative state.
"Just get to it." He clamored lowly. Crow closely examined Bender's arms to see if there was any external damage. Not finding anything suspect, he studied the android's legs, getting the same results as before.
"¡Ándale, ándale!" Bender spat.
"I was just checking for scuffs and dents!" Crow explained, walking to the left side of him. Taking note and paying close attention to the procedures Dr. Zoidberg did on Bender whenever he was injured, he recalled that his arms and legs can extend. Making a very premature hypothesis that the mechanism that makes his arms and legs lengthen was stuck, he grabbed one of Bender's arm with both hands—one on the machine's wrist and the other on his forearm. A sudden yelp came out of Bender, an indication that he was still in pain.
"Sorry about that." Crow's tone was apologetic. "This will only hurt for a—second!" He heard the pleasant sound of a pop, watching the robot's limb manually extending with every backward step he took. "Does it still hurt?" He inquired, moving Bender's arm out a few more inches. Bender answered with a tense wail. "Try and retract your arm," Crow suggested. Hesitantly, Bender shook his left arm slightly, watching it return to him at its regular pace. "Great!" Overjoyed his method was effective, Crow repeated the process for the rest of Bender's appendages, much to the automaton's chagrin.
"Are you done yet?" Bender asked desperately, weakly reaching his arms out so Crow could help him sit up. He felt his upper body be hauled vertically until he was completely upright.
"Not yet. There's one more thing I have to do." Crow sat on the turf beside Bender, his paw on the robot's arm. "It looks like your arms are tense from the fall."
"Okay, and?" He quickly moved his limb to prevent Crow from touching it, expelling a nervous laugh, still throbbing in pain. To his displeasure, the lemming wrapped his hands around his arm.
"You just need to get the blood—err, transmission fluid flowing through your limbs."
"You could give me all the morphine in the world and it still wouldn't numb the pain." Bender demurred, observing Crow's efforts to squeeze his limb in increments. He watched him repeatedly bend and draw out his arm, completely entranced by the way his mitts felt on his steel forelimb. The warm, fuzzy texture of Crow's hands tracing his other arm reproduced the feelings he had when his fingertips made contact with his back at Planet Express headquarters. Going by how low the sun was in the violet sky, it was forty minutes ago since his fall. He shifted his attention to Crow, who tuned out everything around him to get him back into shape.
The sun, almost completely out of the sky, dappled Crow's forest green hair and emerald eyes with a light, orange sheen. His tongue stuck out a little and one of his eyes was squinting in deep focus, his hair puffy from the humidity. Bender could tell his palms were clammy, just by the way the lemming's hands would get slightly stuck to his arm. After putting down his right arm, Crow went straight to his legs, lifting one of them by the ankle and holding it for a couple of seconds, and moving it back down. He repeated this step for Bender's opposite leg and compressed his digits from where his legs began to where they ended. His circuitry fluttered at the prospect of how delicate and gentle Crow was with his body. He was so used to being slammed onto an operating table, feeling sharp jabs of discomfort as his arms or legs were shoved into place like clockwork.
Crow saw him as more than just a hunk of metal whose parts were as easily repairable as they could be destroyed. He viewed Bender as something precious, something valuable, something to be cherished. He paid no mind to his excessive drinking, smoking, and other sleazy activities, only freaking out whenever he was hurt. Bender was never the type to pay attention to details, but all he could see in Crow was his features and mannerisms that made him so curious, so fascinated, so allured.
"I think I'm done now." Crow dried his hands using his shorts, taking a couple of steps away from Bender to give him room.
Bender exited his daze recognizing the lemming's voice, a clang of disappointment settling in. Without difficulty, he planted his hands on the dirt and rose hurriedly. Still in denial, he dismissed his relaxation was an innocuous reaction to being massaged.
"Don't get up so fast, Bender. You might fall over again." Crow advised, yawning, and stretching his arms.
"My God, you look awful!" Bender shouted, observing Crow's tired eyes, dirt-covered shorts, and a sweaty, sleeveless shirt.
"And to my surprise, you've never looked better." Crow gaffed, wiping away sweat from his brow using the back of his wrist. "Can you give me some of that pep in your step?"
"Eh," Bender smirked. "I'll think about it." Crow slowly trotted up the steep incline, staring at his bare feet with every step he took in the blooming night. Following behind him, Bender was extra careful to not step on the lemming's heels. The forest's eerie silence caused Crow to nervously trip on his own feet, falling onto the dirt. "You okay?" asked Bender fretfully. He stumbled his hand to the lemming's back, watching him pick himself up from the floor. In return, Crow wrapped his arm around Bender's waist. Their arms remained around one another while they traversed the remainder of the hiking trail, frequently exchanging timid, coveted eyes. The familiar feeling Bender previously blew off as coincidence rose in his hollow core, quashing his brief letdown. He dreaded seeing the obnoxious neon glow of the Tube Transportation System sign, for he didn't want to let go of his dear Crow, whose relaxed, sleepy head leaned against his side. Seeing the TTS on the horizon, he pinched the lemming's side to get his attention.
"Wha—What's going on?" Crow slurred, turning his neck to see where he was. "I had a crazy dream where…" his voice trailed off seeing Bender's figure in the moonlight, making the last few steps to the TTS. Bender unwrapped his arm from Crow's waist and watched him amusingly ruffle his hair and rub his eyes to wake himself up. "Okay," Crow announced, much more awake now. "before we get back to Planet Express, there's one more thing I have to do."
"I heard something shake around in my chest compartment when I fell," Bender announced, beating Crow to it. Without hesitation, he opened his chest, waiting for the lemming to rummage around. Unzipping his fanny pack, Crow pulled out a mini flashlight and switched it on, examining the robot's interior. There was nothing unusual he saw with his wiring—business as usual. There was a box of cigars that he always carried with him, as well. It was smooth sailing for the robot's diagnostics until Crow saw a flat, boxy structure sitting vertically at the back of his chest cavity. Reaching in with his hand, he quickly yanked the mysterious item out—an unused parachute.
"Ahaha." The lemming uttered restlessly, dropping the flashlight. "It's your parachute from the last delivery." A befuddled look appeared on Bender's face. "Right when you were about to jump, I was trying to tell you to use the parachute so it could break your fall. You ended up colliding with the ground before I could even say it." Crow, while slowly closing Bender's chest cabinet, started to chuckle nervously. Half expecting Bender to not say anything, the other half anticipating him getting pissed off, he was taken aback by his episode of infectious guffaws, progressively getting louder and louder after each second. Crow collapsed to the floor in tears of laughter, slamming his fist against the earth, clambering for air between his exclamations that his stomach was hurting. A few minutes later, the two regained their composure and entered the tube back to New New York City.
"Fry and Leela are probably still there waiting for our return. The lights are still on." Crow rationalized, standing around the corner of Planet Express headquarters alongside Bender. "What do we tell them?" His eyes were wide and ill at ease.
"We don't bring it up in front of them. It's that simple." Bender examined his fingers, snapping them together, and creating a small, bright spark.
"So we're gonna fabricate a story for them to believe instead?" He waited for Bender to tell him what they would use to fool their co-workers, only to hear nothing from him at all. "Well, I guess I'll be the one coming up with a tall tale." Crow decided awkwardly. "Let's get goi—" The lemming walked straight into Bender's torso until slumping to the ground, looking upward. The robot, whose troublesome eyes hung low, blocked the sidewalk using his body. His right hand was planted against the brick wall of the large corporate building while his left was on his hip, his legs crossed over one another. Getting up inconspicuously, he rubbed his forehead, ensuring there wasn't a bump.
"If you pull a stunt like what happened earlier ever again," Bender warned, poking the lemming's chest with his index finger. "you're gonna get it." Presuming that he was in one of his moods again, Crow crossed his arms and pointed his snout up and towards the harrowing, lofty android.
"Get what?" He returned forwardly, blowing a lock of hair in front of his eyes to the side.
Bender's the domineering facade fell through, ruminatively slipping his hand off the wall. "...I don't know yet." He revealed. Disappointed in himself, he moved out of the way, signaling to Crow for him to enter the building first. He heard the lemming's footsteps become gradually quieter and hung his head low in abashment, his attempt at flirting with the creature gone awry. Bender wasn't very direct with his feelings, aside from when he wanted drinks, money, or sex. In this circumstance, he wanted none of the above. He wanted to thank Crow for helping him and putting up with his vexatious self for so long. In the long term, he wanted to tell how he truly felt about him, too. Dejected, he saw no use to communicate either, leaving his declarations unsaid and unheard, festering within his electrical devices indefinitely. While the robot continued to brood, Crow ceased walking and looked behind him, his visage becoming a shade of crimson. He had zero clues as to what Bender was trying to convey, or what he was even referring to. If he was attempting to be coquettish, he didn't think he failed miserably.
"C'mon Bender," Crow bashfully thumbed his cheek. "I think they've waited long enough." Tenuously flinching, Bender accompanied the lemming to the sliding doors of the delivery service structure, which beckoned them to return in open arms.