Archive of Our Own ^beta

It’s been 2 weeks on Alpha Centauri, and the Robinsons were apart once more.
Will’s mom and dad had been separated in the grips of black outside in the cold air of space. They could be anywhere. The thought made Will dizzy- even if the same had happened to him several times, he still couldn’t quite grapple his emotions steady when he imagined his parents, out there somewhere, suffering; without him.
He’d been sat up in his bed for about a half hour, not talking to anyone. Besides, he was sure no one wanted to talk to him; his sisters had been occupied with just about everything else at the moment. No “how’s it going” or “wow wonder if mom and dad are dead, huh”’s
Will hadn’t even said a word to Robot, who had been patiently standing outside his door this whole time while he sulked. Robot, now that he had come to think of it, hadn’t been doing anything this whole time on Alpha Centauri; he’d just been standing there. Much like Will, he and his Robot had just been existing near each other, not communicating beyond basics. So much was happening around the two, with housing, rescue plans and reintegrating, and, in Will's case, worrying, there wasn’t time to talk.
As hard as it was to admit, Will did want to talk to someone, anyone about anything. He’d been encased in his own mind, echoing the same thoughts to a foil wall which screamed them back at him, distorted and harsh.
He looked over to his doorway, and as he always was, Robot was standing outside of it; still, like he was apart of the wall itself. Will sighed and set his gaze to his bed sheets.
“Robot.” Will whispered, quieter than he intended.
Robot turned around quickly, as if he to was tired of the silence.
It took a bit for Will to formulate his words. “C...can you c’mere?”
Robot clunked over immediately, Will still didn’t glance over in his direction. He was thinking- of what to say or do; normally he never would’ve had to. Talking to his Robot was the same thing as talking to a human for Will, but that also came with the awkwardness of everyday conversation.
Will heard the Robot’s loud footsteps stop, and he tensed up for what seemed like no good reason- but the silence irked him, he had to say something.
“Can we talk?” The question was stupid, so idiotic that it made Will instantly regret it. He couldn’t think of that now, so he pushed it out of his head.
Will peaked over at his Robot, who hadn’t shown a change in emotion: he took that as a yes.
He looked back down and began again, “I...I was just thinkin’, y’know, about…” He grabbed at his hair instinctively “...them, mom and dad...and everyone, out there. Last time, when we were out there, lost, like they are now...we had you. But they don’t. It makes me wonder if they’re really okay. And, and no one is talking about it, like it’s not allowed.” Will finished with his hands clenched around his bed sheets, unconsciously.
Will felt a familiar presence at his shoulder, the robot’s hand, gentle with his fragile skin. A symbol of understanding and comfort; though a universal gesture, it felt personal to the two of them specifically. It wasn’t even something Will had to teach to him, he just cared enough to know how to do it and know its significance. It made Will forget what he was even upset about in the first place for a small, careful moment.
Then he remembered where he was, and where his parents weren’t.
“Do you think that they’ll be okay?” Will stared into Robot’s airy starred face. He didn’t see much movement. Again, he took it as a yes. “Yeah.” He tried to agree, it was a lie.
He sat there, looking down for a solid while, and the Robot’s hand eventually left his shoulder. When it did, Will felt an instant change in his mood; he not only felt worse, he felt some sort of anger build up in him, he had no idea why.
“Robot.” He blurted out, feeling the need to say something to feel comforted again; he was desperate for any contact.
Will didn’t know what he wanted to say next, so he came to the first conclusion based on his most basic thoughts.
“You wanna sit with me?”
The Robot didn’t hesitate to sit down with his human, seemingly excited over the prospect. When he did, Will hadn’t been expecting it and his weight crashing onto the bed caused Will to smack into him.
“Upf!” Startled, Will tried to back away, but Robot had caused a sort of sinkhole in the bed gravitating toward himself.
“Maybe you should sit over there?” Will pointed to his pillows, to which Robot moved clunkily toward, sitting on a pillow and having his legs jaggedly in front.
Will supposed that was the best that could be done, and moved to sit next to him. Will leaned on the Robot without much noticing, smushing his face against his arm, and bending his legs so that his feet pushed against the Robot’s legs.
The presence of the Robot, though his exterior was rigid and cold, warmed Will’s thoughts. He didn’t want to have to ever move from beside him.
“...thanks.” Will finally whispered. The Robot looked down at Will, and said the first thing he had said in weeks.
“Friends.”
Will didn’t know what about that statement had caused such an emotional response out of him, he’d heard Robot say it all the time, but this time it crossed a line in his fragile mental state. That simple six letter word reminded Will that; at least he had the Robot. No matter what they had always found each other, and that he had Robot to actually talk to. Not just when both their lives were in danger. They understood and cared for one another.
All of it overwhelmed Will- he began to cry. The tears flowed steadily and slowly in rhythm as he sat there; nothing else had changed about him from seconds prior. He was calm as he experienced nothing but the overpowering reminder of his bond with another.
The Robot eventually noticed, alert at the sight. He was baffled; nothing seemed to be bothering Will, why was he distressed?... Did he do something wrong?
“Danger…?”
Will laughed a bit, wiping away a tear. He’d never heard Robot use that tone before.
“No. I’m just happy you’re here.”
Will moved past Robot’s arm and hugged his midsection, curling up closer to him like a cat. Robot hugged him back, placing his arms around the tiny human’s frame as lightly as he could manage.
Will laid down knowing things would be ok. They had each other, and as long as they were together, Will wasn’t going to fall apart.
After a bit, Will stopped crying and dosed off silently. Robot spent the night keeping watch over him as he had always done, but this time it was different; he wasn’t just watching for danger, he was caring for a friend. He liked the change