Gift
By Squally_BunBun

They weren�t quite sure what had happened, but whatever it was, it must have been bad. Bad enough to make Mike barricade himself beyond Door 6 leading into the theater, anyway.

"What did we do?" asked Crow, prodding Joel in the hip with his beak.

"You know, I�m not entirely sure," said Joel, looking back at the big door. "And I�m not sure what he did, either, but the door won�t open. I�ll have to fix it when he�s feeling better."

"Think it has anything to do with his underwear mysteriously disappearing from the laundry?" asked Servo.

Joel stopped and mused on that for a second. "Well... I�m not entirely sure, but I�d knock it off, just the same."

"Oh, darn!" said Servo.

"f it�s not the underpants, and it�s not us, then what is it?" asked Crow.

"It could be a whole mess of things," said Joel, "but I think it�s best if we just give him his space instead of thinking too much about it."

"I think he�s just a weenie," said Crow decisively. "That�s probably it, exactly."

"Oh, I don�t know," said Joel. "I wouldn�t go that far. Besides, it wouldn�t explain why he barricaded himself back there."

"It explains his attitude," said Servo. "I�m with Crow on this one. I think Mike is definitely a weenie."

"I think you guys are being too harsh on him," said Joel. "He wasn�t sent up all that long ago. I was mopey for the first few days I was here, too."

Mopey was perhaps the most bizarre way to put it, thought Mike as he listened through the door. It wasn�t as if he could help it very much, however; the door was not soundproof, and between that and staring off into nothingness while wallowing in his own self-pity, eavesdropping seemed like the lesser of two evils.

He heard Joel usher the �bots off the bridge. It had something to do with the invention exchange, but Mike could not be bothered to figure out what, exactly, they were plotting. If it meant less mumbling at the door, it meant more time reminiscing about what he was missing, what he had now, and�

That train of thought was derailed when Joel pushed through Door 6 and sat beside Mike. He had two beers in his hands; where he had gotten the beers, Mike wasn�t too sure.

"Frank," said Joel, lifting his hands a bit. It took Mike a moment to realize that he had been staring quizzically at the beers, and another moment to realize how much sense Joel�s answer made. Joel passed him one of the beers.

Thanks," said Mike.

Joel shook the sleeve of his shirt over his hand and screwed the beer cap off, tossing it aside. "What�s eating you?" he asked.

"Nothing," said Mike, attempting to shake out his own sleeve over his hand. It was a touch too short, so Mike tried to palm the cap, only to end up with painful ridges embedded in his hand. "Kind of."

"Nothing, kind of," repeated Joel, wrenching off the beer cap for Mike. Mike raised his beer as thanks and took a swig. "That�s a whole lot of moping for only kind of nothing."

"It�s my job as the residential weenie," said Mike.

To his surprise, Joel started to laugh. "Even when made of six layers of reinforced steel, the walls on this ship are paper thin, eh?"

Mike smiled sheepishly; it was the only response he could think of.

"Tell you what," said Joel. "Why don�t we head into the cabins? We�re over China right now, and if you squint hard enough, you can see the Great Wall."

"I couldn�t," said Mike. "It just doesn�t seem right."

Joel raised an eyebrow at this. "Do share."

Mike raised an eyebrow back at Joel. "You don�t get it?"

It was Joel�s turn to stare quizzically at something. Mike was a very appropriate target in this case.

It�s just.."� Mike sighed. "I can�t look at the Earth right now."

Joel smiled. "I�ll bet it stood you up at a date."

"Joel, if you�re trying to make me spit-take, I hope you realize I need to be drinking for that." Mike took a sip of beer, holding it carefully by the neck.

Joel chuckled. "Is that how it works?"

"All right, knock it off," said Mike, playfully shoving Joel by the shoulder. "I was trying to be serious here." Mike set his beer aside. "The more I think about the Earth, the more I think about what I left behind, and what I left it behind for." Mike smiled bitterly as he said this. "As if I had a choice in the matter."

Joel rubbed Mike�s back a bit.

"I'm just another guinea pig," said Mike. "I was put up here because the movies weren�t driving you mad by themselves. I was supposed to help put you over the edge, just by virtue of me being here. But I think I�ve got a better chance of cracking than you do." He stared at Joel. "How do you do it?" he asked. "How do you put up with all of this?"

"Live and learn," said Joel with a shrug.

"Well, it feels like I�ve got a steeper learning curve," said Mike, crossing his arms. "I'm not just shot into space to watch bad movies, I'm encroaching on your family. You�ve got a tight-knit group up here, and I feel like an interloper. I don�t have any business being up here at all!"

"None of us do," reminded Joel.

Mike laughed nervously. "I'll bet this is the last thing you wanted. The new guy whining about how his life is so hard. You�ve been through all this. I�m probably boring you."

"I did ask you to share," said Joel, ruffling Mike's hair affectionately. �If there�s something troubling the new guy, I want to know what it is, even if it's just him whining about how his life is so hard." Joel leaned back a little bit, propping up his head on one of his arms. "So, how did you feel about your mother?"

Mike smiled again, although this smile was a touch sadder than anything else. He looked up at the ceiling of the little hallway. "It makes it easier to accept when I�m in here," said Mike.

"What is 'it'?"

"Everything. Looking at the Earth reminds me of all of the people who are probably missing me, friends, family. Looking at you and the 'bots makes me feel like I don�t belong. This just feels like the most neutral place on the ship."

"Hmm." Joel sipped his beer idly. "I never thought about it like that."

The conversation changed gears slightly. "What did you do to feel less lonely?" asked Mike, looking at Joel.

"I built," said Joel. "Between the invention exchange and working on the 'bots designs and personalities, I didn�t have time to be lonely."

Mike nodded.

"Four robots and a human being, and you still feel lonely?" asked Joel, picking up on what Mike was hinting.

Mike wasn�t even aware that he was hinting anything and seemed surprised when Joel hit the nail on the head.

"Is this the interloper thing again?" asked Joel. "If it is, you�ve gotta knock it off."

Mike laughed nervously. "It�s just�"

Joel surprised Mike by wrapping him in a bear hug. "I mean it," he said. "It�s not your fault you�re up here." He released Mike from the hug, but kept his arm draped over Mike�s shoulders. "Stop thinking you�re an intruder up here. It�s not a good thought to have, and besides, you�ll just depress everybody if you keep this up, moping around all day."

Mike chuckled. "Right. Not very nice of me, is it?"

Joel tugged Mike into him, Mike's head coming to rest in the crook of his neck. "No, it's not. Mike, this may not be Earth, but it's still one hell of a good time. Trust me. I�ve been up here for a spell. And frankly, it's nice to see a new face onboard."

"Nice enough for the �bots to constantly needle me?" asked Mike.

"Now you�re getting the point," said Joel. "Speaking of which, they�re down in one of the supply chambers, trying to think up an invention for the next time the Mads call. We�ve got the bridge to ourselves."

Mike pushed himself up. "What do you propose we do with it?" asked Mike.

"Well, no serious damage, but it�ll give you a chance to stretch your legs," said Joel.

Door 6 was reopened, and Mike stepped out onto the bridge. This time, his mind was racing much more than it had been before he started listening in on Joel and the 'bots' conversation. Through one of the portholes on the ship, he could see the blue oceans of Earth and a handful of clouds. For once, though, instead of feeling remorse for what he was missing, he felt, oddly enough, a little uplifted.

Joel had a point. For such a sleepy guy, he seemed to have a decent grasp of the situation, or at least a good idea of the best way to handle it. Mike needed to make the most out of the situation. If he was going to make himself at home on the Satellite, and if the 'bots would ever stop calling him a weenie, he needed to adjust his approach some.

When Joel felt lonely, he built. Mike figured even though he was inept at handling machinery, electronics, and gizmos in general, he could still take after Joel's example and start building�not inventions, but relationships and good feelings.

His first attempt was quite ambitious; without warning, he whirled Joel around and kissed him full on the lips. When Joel pulled away, Mike was relieved to find out he looked more bemused than angry about it.

"What was that for?" he asked.

Mike shrugged. "Building."

The answer seemed to make sense to Joel, even without context, so he let it drop. "You're not worried about encroaching?" he asked.

"Oh, please," said Mike, rolling his eyes. "I'll be a weenie to the 'bots for a long time, so the kiss won't help or hurt me in that regard. And besides," he added, jerking his head towards the porthole. "Nobody down there is going to notice."

"You lightened up a lot faster than I thought you would," said Joel, poking Mike in the chest. "This wasn�t just some kind of attempt to get in my pants, was it?"

"Is it working?" asked Mike, waggling his eyebrows.

Joel laughed and pulled Mike closer to him, capturing him in another kiss. "You better not try this with the 'bots to get on their good side," he whispered against Mike�s lips.