#0nce-1er

      Greed-lerBot watched in the shadows as his inventor, Steam-ler, locked the door to the workshop once more. Greed had grown quite curious what Steam was up too. He had not allowed Greed-ler into the workshop for ages, and Steam had spent many hours of the day in said workshop. Steam had told Greed not to go into the workshop for anything. And Greed never disobeyed his master. Until today, that is.

      Today, Greed-ler found the perfect time to go into the workshop, for Steam was going out somewhere with Crud-ler, and Greed was asked to stay home.

      ”Greed, I will be back in a few hours. Do NOT go into the workshop, okay buddy?”

      “Okay,” he replayed Steam’s voice. “I will…NOT go into the workshop.” He smiled reassuringly as the sentence he just clipped together had actually made proper sense. Steam smiled back and walked out of the door. He waited until he couldn’t see him anymore to go and scope out the workshop. Steam had taken the key, so Greed’s only chance of opening the door was his clawed index finger. He picked the lock with ease and crept down the stairs. His eyes glowed green, providing light down the dim stairway.

      The workshop was a cluttered place. There were boxes of spare parts and various metals stacked everywhere. Exposed gears spinning and wire and tools strewn about the floor. It was a wonder Steam hadn’t injured himself with all the mess on the floor. Greed passed by his bed, looking exactly how he left it two months ago. That was the last time Greed was in here. Since then, he either went into sleep mode on the couch, or out of pity Steam would allow him to drift off in his own bed.

      As Greed-ler wandered deeper and deeper into the workshop, he noticed a pair of blue lights, he calculated about thirty yards ahead of him. The lights just barely moved side to side and flickered off almost like… Like eyes, he marveled. But certainly they can’t be! There are no other robots here! Greed silently hissed at the thought of another robot. He inched closer, watching the lights carefully. Certainly if it were a robot it would have… noticed him. The lights grew brighter, as they stared straight back at his green ones. He started to fell an electrical buzz run through his mechanical body. He hoped it wasn’t a malfunction.

     The lights rose higher, as if something were standing up and became closer and closer with a faint clink…clink…clink…Much like his own footsteps. He, too, began to advance curiouser and curiouser about those two lights. As he drew closer, he came to the conclusion that they were eyes, dimly lighting up a face. A face connected to head connected to a neck and body, with arms and legs and… A water tank? It was a robot after all. But he did not attack. He kept coming, something telling him not to attack. To investigate this….this robot.

     “Hello?” it called out, stopping about ten feet away.

     “Hello,” Greed replied lamely. It was the only thing he could say at the moment.

     “Who…Who are you? Are you a robot, too? Did Master Steam-ler build you?” the other robot said. It could talk. Greed could not.

      “Who are you? Master Steam-ler build…me,” he had tried very hard to pull that one word out of his memory.

      “Oh! Then you must be Greed-lerBot, right? Master Steam-ler told me I would be meeting you soon!” it said cheerfully. Greed was not happy. If Steam had built this, he had been able to give it its own voice but not him?

     “I…Greed-lerBot,” he agreed wishing he could say more.

     “You cannot talk? That is unfortunate. Is there another way you can communicate?” he said, Greed decided he ought to stop calling him and it.

     “Cannot talk….there…is…another way to communicate,” he clipped together. He pulled out a small notepad and pen from his coat so he could write.

 Master Steam-ler built you with a voice?

Greed-ler handed him the note. He accepted and read it. “Do you mind if I just answer aloud, maybe saving time?” he asked. Greed shook his head, allowing the other robot to speak.

      “Yes, he did build me with a voice. It is most unfortunate that he failed to make yours work after so many attempts.”

       Greed-ler took back the paper and pen. A feeling inside of him told him what to write next.

Do you feel a buzzing, kind of like a malfunction?

“Yes, actually I do. I feel worried. That it had begun when I saw you approaching me. Maybe it is like a sort of interference with the systems?” he suggested.

It is possible… What is your name?

      ”0nce-1erBot. Of course, you could always call me Onciebot. I like that name as well. I already know your name,” he replied with a sheepish smile.

I would suppose you do, Onciebot, huh? That is an adorable name.

      A lot more steam poured of Onciebot’s boiler tank. “Th-thank you Mister Greed-ler. That is very kind of you.”

   Greed grinned at Onciebot’s flush, most alike Steam’s. The buzzing became more and more… noticeable in the two bots. Greed felt his systems pulling him closer and closer to the younger of the two, lips just millimeters away. Onciebot filled in the space as he leaned the rest of the way in for the kiss. Several waves of electricity erupted from the kiss, filling them with new energy. Greed-ler became a little greedy and didn’t break the kiss until someone spoke out.

   “Well this is a pleasant surprise,” said Steam, who had come back to retrieve a forgotten item fro the workshop. Greed and Onciebot broke apart and looked at the inventor.

    “M-Master Steam-ler! I am so sorry--,” Onciebot started.

  Steam chucked and raised his hand to silence him. “It’s okay, it was going to happen soon enough. I had the feeling Greed-lerBot would come down here tonight.” Greed smiled guiltily, still hugging close to Onciebot.

   “Now I suppose I should leave you two alone. I will be back later tonight, see you guys later, okay?”

“See you….later,” Greed replied. He waited for Steam to leave the workshop to look back down at Onciebot. Oncie smiled back up again and their lips met once more.