AUTHOR'S NOTE: I want to give a GIANT THANKS to my good friend STRIDESHITT for helping me look over and revise this; I had SO MUCH TROUBLE with this particular chapter and I was exhausted by the time I finished writing it and wanted to make sure it didn't sound forced. GO READ HIS FICS RIGHT NOW if you don't mind crude humor.

"Road trip?" the Commander stood with his arms flush against his sides, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Yeah," Crash replied, hastily wrapping one end of a long cord around his arm, letting Eaglebones carry the other end. "Jimmy said it would be good for us to just chill and stuff. He says we move too fast."

"We're going to Vancouver," Eaglebones added.

"Vancouver!" the Commander repeated. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else, it was other people making plans without him. He had only just learned to tolerate that robot - how dare he try to act as a higher authority!

"But what about our tour?"

"That's, like, a super long time from now," Crash shrugged. "Jimmy says we'll be there and back long before then." Jimmy says, Jimmy said, Jimmy said, Jimmy says. Give me a break.

"I think you'll find it enjoyable." The Commander felt a chill go up his spine as he heard an all-too-familiar voice speak. He felt a metal hand rest on his shoulder and every muscle in his body tensed. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, remembering the previous week's incident as he turned around to face Jimmy. He was only slightly reassured by the robot's look of innocence, not entirely trusting him yet but making every attempt possible to calm down. However, he had a feeling that he at least wasn't going to look very relaxed as long as Jimmy was touching him on the shoulder like that.

"Oh, sorry," Jimmy apologized abruptly, and slightly loosened his grip, not removing his hand but very gently laying his palm against him. The lack of pressure caused a significant amount of the Commander's stress to alleviate, and he was almost shocked at how quickly he began to relax.

"Am I making you uncomfortable still?" Jimmy questioned, looking genuinely concerned.

"No, that's nice," The Commander spoke impulsively. Stammering, he immediately attempted to change the subject. "Hey, Crash, what've you got there, buddy?"

Crash held up the wire he was carrying.

"It's an extension cord," he explained. "Jimmy wants to drive the whole way, says we'll get there quicker if he doesn't have to stop and recharge every few days."

"However, that means we have to have a giant, clumsy cord running through the BattleTram," Eaglebones noted, rolling his eyes.

"I'll sit in the front today," the Commander seemed almost instantly pacified, stuttering as if slipping in and out of a trance. "Uh, y'know, to make sure we're going the right way and all. Extra pair of eyes."

Jimmy shrugged.

"Uhh, okay. Fine by me. I'm ready to depart when everyone else is."

He wasn't sure if it was a change, or simply a matter of failing to notice, but the Commander briefly thought about how recently, Jimmy seemed a bit more... real. Almost like he wasn't just a bundle of circuitry and code.

The Commander jumped at the statement, dashing towards the front of the tram, only to be stopped by Eaglebones grabbing him by the back of his rashguard.

"Jimmy, you go on ahead. I need to speak to the Commander in private for a while."

Jimmy nodded his understanding and walked out of the hallway, leaving the Commander to sputter in frustration.

"What do you want," he whined, practically bouncing in an attempt to hasten the conversation. Eaglebones didn't falter in the slightest.

"You've been acting strange lately."

The Commander looked borderline offended.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, not all the time. Most of the time you're just normal," Eaglebones snorted. "Normal for you, anyway. But when you're talking to, or about, Jimmy, you act completely different. Like a zombie."

The Commander folded his arms in frustration.

"Like how?"

"Like how? Well," Eaglebones offered. "You speak more quietly; you're usually pretty loud. You also tend to speak more formally, like he's a higher-up you need to appeal to or something."

"Yeah, so?"

"Commander..." Eaglebones squinted and cocked an eyebrow, folding his arms and loosening his posture, trying to keep the same counseling tone in his voice. "...Do you have a crush on him?"

The Commander looked like he was about to pass out.

"What? The robot? No! I mean... I mean no! I mean... What's it to ya?"

"I wouldn't think of you any less. I'm trying to help you."

"Well, er..."

Eaglebones walked up closer to the Commander, close enough that he could be heard as he spoke in a hushed, almost whispering voice.

"Alright, I won't pry. But give it some thought. If you suspect there's something there, I would tell Jimmy as soon as possible." He poked the Commander's chest. "It won't be easy, and I can't guarantee it will play out the way you would want it to. But it's best to nip this in the bud as soon as possible before it grows into something you can't handle on your own."

He patted the Commander's back and walked towards the door to the bunks, leaving the Commander unsettled and beet red with embarrassment.

"W-Where are you going?"

"I'm pooped. It's been a long day. You can go up to the front of the BattleTram if you want. Good night." He closed the door before the Commander could get another word in.

The Commander was left only with his own thoughts and recollections of what Eaglebones had told him. He began to think that maybe the man was onto something, but it was still quite dissonant in his mind. A crush? How would that even work out?

After all, robots don't have souls.