#googlepliers

Elliott scowled deeply when he heard Oliver laugh from his area of the room. He was so loud and happy all the Goddamn time. It was infuriating. He wouldn’t say that because Lee would get pissed and refuse to tell him how to do the puzzles in Resident Evil (he wasn’t very smart when it came to those). So he had to sit and cope. He clenched his fist and willed himself not to overheat when he heard more laughing from the yellow Android. He walked over to his wall, tempted to punch it, but decided on knocking on it like a door and plopping back down in his chair. He snatched up his controller and put on his headphones. Maybe a game or whatever will calm his nerves.

He scrolled through his games for a bit, knowing he was too angry to properly play anything, but not wanting to play anything cutesy, like whatever the fuck Oliver was trying to make him play. Bugsnax? Hollow Knight? Disgusting.

His eyes landed on a multiplayer shooter. He usually didn’t go for those types, because people fucking suck, but he thought: oh well. It’s been a boring day. So, he opened the game.

“YO WHAT’S GOOD, GAMERS” Someone yelled into their headset the moment he got in. He flinched and immediately took his off. He could still hear him from where it was on his desk.

my guy u r so damn loud keep it the fuck down - he typed in the chat. He heard a “FUCK YOU” from the headset that made him snort.

im taking my headset off - another player typed out.

me 2 - he responded.

The one guy kept yelling and he was starting to get annoyed but the game hadn’t even started. 

albinopines: @xgoogleredx hello :) 

He tilted his head at the message.

xgoogleredx: hey

albinopines: ur name’s cool

xgoogleredx: urs too, albinopines

albinopines: thanks i made it myself

He chuckled a little at the response. 

xgoogleredx: hey so like i haven’t played this game ever i need help

albinopines: it’s ok i’ll help u

He smiled and suddenly he was in the game. He panicked a little, but played as best he could.

They won the first round because he got a lucky headshot, and he couldn’t help but be happy that the rest of the team was happy. He decided to put his headset back on, and--

“HEY GOOGLERED I’M TALKING TO YOU!” Albinopines said loudly into their mic.

“What the FUCK do you want?” He growled. Everyone was silent for a moment.

“You did really good and I’m proud of you,” they said softly. Somebody else laughed and he smiled.

“Thanks.” He sighed.

“Alright let’s fucking GO, BOYS,” They yelled and he took his headset off again. The other players let out a chorus of “LET’S GOOOOO” “GIT ‘ER DONE” “USA, USA” and he was positive he’d never met anyone this excited to play any game ever in his life. He debated in his head for a moment, before putting the headset back on. 

Everyone was messing around during the countdown, including one player just spinning in a circle the whole time and albinopines continuously trying to jump on his head.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He wheezed.

“I’m-I’m tryna make a tactical… decision.” They responded.

“Try-Tryna pull a voltron.” Another person added.

“YE-Yeah a fuckin… V-Voltron. Power Rangers. Just-Just stay still for a second.”

The timer ran out and they were audibly disappointed, but started moving. Everyone was quiet for a bit, and nothing much happened.

“Yo, Red on your left.” Albinopines said quietly. He didn’t understand, so he just kept moving. “Red your left. On your-RED ON YOUR LEFT!” They were increasingly panicked and he turned just in time to get shot in the face by an enemy player.

“DUDE!”

“I SAID ON YOUR LEFT”

“YOU FUCKING IDIOT”

“Hey don’t call my son an idiot”

He laughed loudly at that, and spectated until the next round. He took a deep breath, staring at their operator on the screen, before making a decision.

“Parental figure, I require assistance,”

“WH-Yeah, what is it.”

“How… do I… use… my drone.”

The voice chat erupted with laughter and he felt a small sense of pride.

“WELL, I THINK WE’RE A BIT LATE IN THE GAME FOR THAT BUD…”

He spoke a bit more in this round and was a more active participant in the actual game, making him feel happy. Even when they lost the final round, he wasn’t that unhappy about it. 

And when they lost the next game.

And the next one.

And when they finally won a game, everyone cheered before saying they needed to leave and that it was getting late.

“WAIT wait guys I have an important question.” He said. Everyone quieted. “... how… do I send friend requests.” a series of groans from everyone else.

“Well, you have to--” albino started. And then the screen closed. His eyes widened in horror as he flailed around to look at his computer. 

“Game crashed. Shit happens.” Lee mumbled. Elliott buried his head in his hands. He sighed heavily and stared at his screen for a minute, mourning the loss.

He got a message.

albinopines - hi! sorry about da game. getting disconnected sucks :(

He smirked a bit.

xgoogleredx - would u believe this is my 1st time playing 

albinopines - considering u didn’t kno a basic mechanic i would lmao

xgoogleredx - might delete the game

albinopines - well, i swear its fun once u win multiple times

xgoogleredx - im p sure u r the only person i liked playing with

He widened his eyes when he realized how that sounded.

xgoogleredx - i mean like u and the team

xgoogleredx - like all of u

xgoogleredx - not just u

albinopines - aw ty

albinopines - that y u said person instead of ppl?

He scowled a little, but chuckled. Cheeky fucker.

xgoogleredx - hey

xgoogleredx - fuck you

albinopines - sorry lmaooo

albinopines - pullin out the fully spelled words?

albinopines - r u mad at me? /j

albinopines - but also /srs

xgoogleredx - nah, not really

He sat for a few minutes, waiting for a response. He got a little worried that maybe they thought he was actually upset and wanted to leave him alone. He didn’t want that. He didn’t have any friends (online or in real life) and he was honestly pretty lonely. This was fun. Entertaining. This person entertained him. 

While he stewed in self-pity and doubt, he got a notification.

A friend request from albinopines.

He smiled and took it.

albinopines - hey hey u wanna play minecraft?

xgoogleredx - sure

xgoogleredx - i don’t like the headset, can i only communicate through chat.

albinopines - oh, that’s fine :)

He waited a minute or so before getting an invite and entering the Minecraft world. He smiled at the custom skin squatting and jumping at him repeatedly before copying it. They threw him some wood, a chest, and some meat before jumping off to do something else. He turned his character to look back, and saw a door that presumably led to the interior of their house. Elliott smiled and went to follow albinopines.

--

“What are you doing?” Elliott jumped when he heard one of his ‘brothers’ talk to him. His computer faced Lee’s area, so he always spied on what the red android was doing. Elliott scowled at him.

“Nothing,” He said.

“Who’s ‘albinopines’?” Lee asked, ignoring him.

“Nobody,” Elliott snapped. Lee didn’t say anything else, so he kept playing. Your Minecraft world was coming along nicely. He didn’t really like these kinds of games, but you liked it, so he wanted to play. 

“... that’s not what you mine that with.” Lee said suddenly, making Elliott jump.

“Can you… leave me alone?” He twisted around to look at his green brother.

“Fine, lose the redstone. See if I care.” He went back to trimming a bonsai tree on his desk. Elliott mumbled angrily and turned back to the game. He paused before mining.

He switched to the stone axe and heard Lee chuckle from behind him. He wanted to curse at him, but you typed in the minecraft chat.

albinopines - where art thou

xgoogleredx - underground

xgoogleredx - mining redstone

albinopines - hell yeah!

albinopines - where the stairs

xgoogleredx - what stairs

There wasn’t a response for a while and Elliott thought he might’ve messed up.

albinopines - red

xgoogleredx - ye

albinopines - did u dig straight down

xgoogleredx - ye

Lee barked out a laugh behind him.

xgoogleredx - y?

albinopines - well u can’t come back up 

albinopines - w/o getting rid of all ur cobble

albinopines - and also that’s the worst idea ever

xgoogleredx - o

albinopines - i’ll throw u some dirt dont u worry bab

Elliott smiled at the screen a little. He didn’t like acting weak in any situation, but this was a special case.

xgoogleredx - noises scawy :(

albinopines - u stay right there im comin

xgoogleredx - help

albinopines - pines is on da way

albinopines - voila!

A bunch of dirt suddenly entered his inventory

albinopines - dirt for the noob

xgoogleredx - my savior

He made his way back up the hole.

albinopines - that’ll be all ur redstone pls

He snorted.

xgoogleredx - no

albinopines - u don’t even know what to do w/it

xgoogleredx - it’s mine

albinopine - ill fight u 4 it

xgoogleredx - fine

He equipped his wooden sword. The other equipped a diamond sword and a shield. His eyes widened before they started attacking. He tried attacking back, but died quickly.

“Loooooseeeeer…” Lee teased from his area. Elliott spun around to glare at him. The android had an infuriating smirk on his face as he snipped at the little tree. Elliott turned back around and made his way back to where he died. There was a chest, but the other person was gone.

xgoogleredx - where’s my shit

albinopines - the box, dummy

xgoogleredx - o

xgoogleredx - thanks

albinopines - ooooh gettin’ real late

albinopines - I gotta go

xgoogleredx - aw

xgoogleredx - c u l8r

albinopines - c ya

He exited the world and sighed as he scooted away from his PC. A noise sounded throughout the room, signifying it was time to charge. All 4 androids went into the center and sat on the couch. They all closed their eyes as they were plugged into the wall. Usually, they all were silent as they charged, taking the time to simply recuperate. Usually.

“Someone has a gamer boy crush,” Lee said in a sing-song voice. Elliott’s eyes snapped open and he silently swore he’d murder his brother one of these days. Oliver let out an obnoxiously loud gasp.

“Sorry, are we talking about Elliott? As in… Elliott?” Google asked like he was surprised. 

“Baby’s first online crush!” Oliver laughed. Correction. Elliott swore that he would kill all of his brothers. Slowly. Painfully.

“He’s been talking with albinopines a lot. Even played with them all night one night.” Lee explained. Elliott was now mortified and his eyes were wide. How did he know? WHY did he know? He thought Lee was sleeping. Not that they needed to sleep, but some of them enjoyed sleeping. Like Lee and Oliver. Elliott had done that when he thought they were asleep. Were they not asleep???

“Awwww…” Oliver cooed. If Elliott had blood, he’d be blushing. As it was, it felt like his processor was going to catch on fire and there was steam coming out of his ears.

“Ew.” Google gave him a look he didn’t enjoy.

“I don’t… have a crush.” He said slowly and firmly to get it through their thick heads.

“Please…” Lee snorted, “It’s obvious.”

Elliott sank down in the couch and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his brothers to wear themselves out and stop teasing him.

--

Elliott hadn’t heard from you in a bit and he was starting to get worried. Had he come on too strong? Did they get bored of him? What happened? He didn’t want to seem desperate by messaging you first. But he was desperate, and he missed his friend. 

“They’re at work,” Lee said. Elliott rolled his eyes, tempted to just dismiss the statement, but he paused.

“... how do you know that?” He asked slowly. He knew that Lee could just look up the gamer tag and go from there, but he didn’t seem the type. He turned to his brother, who was smiling while gaming away on his Xbox. “Lee.” He called out. Lee glanced at him.

“Hm?” He hummed. Elliott clenched his fist.

“How do you know that?” He repeated. Lee sighed, pausing his game and taking his headset off.

“Do you think I’m just gonna let my brother talk to a stranger on the internet without talking to them first?” He asked smugly.

“You talked to them?!” Elliott all but yelled.

“They said that they have fun playing with you!” Oliver called out. Elliott whipped around to look at Oliver, then back at Lee.

“Also they said that you’re a little weird…” Elliott squinted at him. “Their words.”

“Incorrect, they said that you’re fun to talk to,” Google corrected. Elliott squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands.

God, he was embarrassed. This was embarrassing. He couldn’t have this one thing? This one thing to himself? 

He heard a sigh from Lee and picked his head up to scowl again.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” He rolled his eyes and put his headset back on, continuing the game he was playing, “I’m not their friend. I’m just the protective, nosy brother in their eyes.” Elliott didn’t answer, instead facing his computer. He typed a quick apology message out, before continuously erasing and retyping to make it sound less whiny, less mean, less sad, less anything. Lee huffed a bit.

“‘Hi, sorry for my brothers. They’re nosy and I hate them. Wanna play Minecraft?’” He recited. Elliott froze. He sighed, typing out the message word for word, before sending it. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes, listening to the small taps of Lee’s controller, Oliver’s humming, and the soft whir of the computer fan. Eventually, he heard the notification sound and looked at his screen.

albinopines - nah, ur good lol. sure i’d love 3

albinopine - *2

He smiled softly, entering the world. As he played, he knew Lee was watching. He’d long since stopped pretending he was playing, as the sounds of the controller stopped, but Elliott didn’t think he minded too much. 

“You can’t mine diamonds with gold, you made that pickaxe for no reason.”