[A/N: am i doing these fics w the boys based on things that they like??? Yes. Bc they're easy prompts. So Cubey gets video games. And i want these to be one-on-one interactions.

The ones for Cubey and Mitch are really contingent on the year that the series takes place. I figure that, at least for these stories, the series takes place in '86 or early '87. That's a legitimate decade before i was born, so forgive that i'm fucking stupid c:

Um, let's go with masculine pronounss. Bc i've been using feminine too often. I don't know if i'm ever going to get past using feminine pronouns for Auto as i write them. It feels better somehow. They're still GN, though.

Someone/where said that Socks was Robot's best friend, but i think Cubey is, personally. Also, this one was started before the Mitch one and has a lot more about Auto themselves than that one does. Not intentionally, tho.

TW/CW: waiting for someone, talking with a friend, arcade/cabinets, playing video games, some nervousness friendship, excitement, happiness, discussing a subject that character likes (video games), sharing opinions]

Auto waited patiently outside of Nob's Arkaid after school had let out for the day. This was his week-daily prerogative, as he had once been told that his friends would be here to play games almost every day.

There were only a handful of times when that wasn't the case. But once they found out that he had waited there past 8pm, a FEW times, they decided that one of them would call the arcade from home to have Nob tell Auto that they weren't going to show up if they needed to. Auto never personally wanted to be a bad friend by not showing up, but he actually felt like they genuinely cared about him the first time that happened. The kids at his own school would have just let him wait there for months on end without telling him that they wouldn't be there, so having someone be honest with their intention was something precious to him.

This afternoon, the waiting was no different. The very first step off of school grounds was routed for the arcade, and the goal was to wait outside until at least one of his friends showed up. That was the case this time; one that took only 92 minutes and 16 seconds after Auto arrived. He perked up when he saw his shortest buddy. "Hello Cubey!!!" Auto grinned wide and skipped up to him as soon as he saw him.

"Hey Auto! What's goin down today, my metal amigo???" He smiled and made some weird gestures with his arms and hands. Auto had a tendency to repeat these things that he did, marking them all down as something like a greeting that some people did. This one was a little weird, and he got tangled up. Cubey chuckled.

Auto shook his head and pulled himself together. "Not too much, mon meaty ami!" He always felt awkward asking this. "Are the other guys off today???"

Cubey laughed. "Yeah. It's just you and me today, Auto-bot!" They crossed the threshold and Cubey bumped Auto with his elbow. "What say you and me put some high scores on these machines today???"

Auto smiled wide. He adored being included in plans. "Absolutely!!! Let's make them completely unbeatable!!!" He shook a fist with determination, and Cubey grinned wide at the enthusiasm.

Cubey rolled up to a cabinet and Auto trotted along after. He took a quarter out of his pocket and held it up. "Give us strength, skill, and luck, o mighty Video Game Gods!" He dropped it into the slot, and the game sprung to life. He cracked his fingers and positioned them above the controls, ready to take on any challenge that the computer threw at him.

Auto watched him sweep through the first few levels of the game without any problems at all. "Amazing job!!!" He noticed that the person on the cabinet to the right was leaving, and that there was nobody that was waiting to hop on it. Auto wanted to continue supporting Cubey; but he also wanted to keep his promise to him that they would get several high scores that day, and he wouldn't be able to do that if he were just an audience. "I'm gonna hit up this game, okay? I'll still be right here for you."

"Sounds good, buddy."

Auto stepped over to the machine and scanned over any information that was available for it. He had never played this game before, and he wanted to make sure that he was aware of what he was supposed to do. When he got what he could from the outside, he slipped a quarter into the slot and readied his hands. A couple of lines of more information popped on the screen before anything, and Auto added it to the bank to play this game to the best of his ability.

Auto always allowed himself to lose the first hits in a game to get used to what was expected of the player. He didn't usually get upset with the next hit either, as it was usually from something else that was intentionally difficult. Any additional hits were typically taken as how any other gamer would take them, though Auto was able to admit when he made a mistake. He got frustrated when things weren't telegraphed well or when a game was designed to have intentionally cheap shots to drink up kids' quarters. He never respected those, but could be convinced to try and beat them anyway.

After the second hit he took in the game, he was doing pretty well. He got through a few more levels and was able to earn back the hits he took, plus a few more. The game wasn't incredibly interesting, but it was challenging enough to keep his attention. He spoke in between levels. "How are you doing, Cubes???"

Cubey was mostly enveloped in his game. He took a few seconds before responding. "Doing good. You???" He never stopped playing.

"It's okay. I feel like you'd enjoy seeing this one sometime." It crossed Auto's mind that he wasn't all too sure of the kinds of things that Cubey liked about new games. He knew that Cubey liked games, and that he wanted to be a game designer; but he didn't actually know what kind of games Cubey would want to work on in his career. Auto made a note to ask him about it when they took a break.

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The two of them were sitting outside of the convenience store down the block from the arcade. Cubey wanted to get one of those freezy drinky things, but Auto was concerned that it would ruin his components, so he elected to just recharge at one of the outlets that he found.

"Hey Cubey, can i ask you something about games???"

"Sure, anything!" He smiled wide.

"Why do you like video games???" Auto cocked his head.

"Uuumm, because they're AMAZING?! They're awesome! They're magnificent!! They're the pinnacle of Earthly creation!!!" Cubey waved his arms wildly.

Auto made a worried smile. "I agree." He blinked. "But what's your favorite thing about them???"

Cubey hummed. "I like everything about them! The music, the visuals, the skill that they take to beat. Video games are like movies, but you're ALWAYS the main character!"

Auto registered it. "You said that you wanted to make games when you're older, right??? What kinds of games would you make?"

"I would make awesome games!! I would make games that require a lot of skill to beat, but are easy for people to pick up. Maze and puzzle games are like that, and i think that's why they're always popular.

"I guess so." Auto looked at him. "I like the idea of making games accessible. Like making them easy for people to get into. I feel like it's a cool medium for art and has way more opportunities than something like a movie does."

"They totally do! Movies last maybe a couple of hours and then end, but you could play a game for DAYS and still be finding new ways to get to the next level!"

"Very true! I like puzzles that have different ways to get to the solution. It's always interesting to see how different people solve them."

"That's the most fun thing about them!!! If a game can't get you thinking about how to go about beating it, then it's just not a good game. Even things like hard bosses or boards require you to strategize on using the character's abilities to beat them. If everyone in an arcade can use a different method to beat a hard boss, then it's a great game!"

"Yes, that's what makes them fun!!!"

"EXACTLY!!! I want to make games that a whole block of arcade attendants could play differently and still get to the next level, but only a few can make to the very end. Tests of skill, tests of brainpower, test of who's the best!!! They'll be BEYOND amazing!!! They'll be THE BEST GAMES EVER!!!!!" He was shouting and flailing at this point.

Auto grinned wide and happy, albeit a bit nervously. "I know they will, because YOU'LL be working on them!!! You have a fantastic eye for video games, Cubey!"

"I like to think i have one of the top scores!" He stood proudly.

"You do!" Auto tapped his finger on his cheek. "I can imagine you being a lead developer of games, designing just about anything you want to on them."

"I want to have my own video game company some day, so all of my friends can work there!!" He grinned wide.

"That would be amazing!! I can totally see Mitch heading the music for the games, and Robot would code them, obviously. I think Socks could do a great job at designing how a game looks, like the backgrounds and sprites and things."

"They would be the best!" Cubey looked straight at Auto. "And you would be the best for quality control!! You're so thorough and attentive to details that no glitch would ever get by you!!!"

Auto grinned and blushed shyly. "Aaww, Cubey, you flatter me!!! You would really have me on your team???"

"Of COURSE!!!" He jumped in place excitedly. "The crew wouldn't be complete without you, Auto!!! You're too good for me to EVER let go!!!" He smiled wide with a thumping heart, fully meaning what he said.

It touched Auto and made him feel included, which was all he ever really wanted. He felt like he might shed a few tears. "Thank you, Cubey. You don't know what that means to me to hear you say that."

"I mean it, too, Auto! You're family to us, and families stick together." Auto started to well up. "And make the best video games the world has ever seen!!!... or at least our family does." The two of them laughed and smiled, enjoying the daydreams.

[Post a/n: oh no cring!!! Got kind of Sue-ish at the end there, sorry! I just wish somebody would say that kind of thing to me and mean it for once (my ass can NOT convince myself that people like me. No i won't ever get over that, stop trying.)]