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“Test Tube?” The small voice said from behind her, “I think I hurt my leg. It won’t extend fully anymore.” Test Tube turned around then, leaving her pen next to the lab notes that she had been scribbling down.
“Oh come her dear, let me see,” Test Tube said, reaching out to the small object to pick them up. She sat them on her desk, just high enough so that she could inspect their leg. “Which leg is bothering you?” She asked, looking for any indication of which it may be.
“The right one.”
“Ah, I see. That’ll be an easy fix. Can you stay here for a moment? I need to get my tools.” Test Tube said as she spotted the rogue wire that seemed to have been cut. Before she left she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Bot’s lips. Test Tube knew that it was wrong to treat a being that saw her as a mother figure as a partner, but she just couldn’t resist the urge. Bot didn’t think anything of it, they didn’t have anything to base what they thought their relationship with Test Tube should be like off of.
Bot nodded and started to swing their legs. They didn’t think anything of it. If Test Tube kept repeating that to herself maybe she would feel better about this whole ordeal.
Test Tube quickly left the room. She tried to make it so it wasn’t obvious that she was trying to leave as fast as possible, but she wasn’t sure how well she was playing that part. She couldn’t stand to be in a room with that object any longer, not when she felt so conflicted about her feelings to them.
After she got the few tools that she would need to repair Bot’s leg, she went back to her lab. If she didn’t have her feelings at the forefront of her mind she likely would’ve walked just a tad bit faster than she currently was.
When she entered the room, Bot looked like they were about to fall asleep on the desk. Test Tube was sure that she wasn’t gone for more than ten minutes, but it was getting late.
Test Tube tried to go as quickly as possible as she fixed up Bot’s leg. The faster this was over, the faster she would be able to confront her feelings towards the object that was practically her child.
By the time that Test Tube was done, Bot had fallen asleep. They were softly snoring and thankfully hadn’t fallen over on Test Tube’s desk when they did fall asleep.
Test Tube softly sighed and picked up Bot. After season three had ended, Test Tube and Bot had started spending a lot of time in the lab. Because of that, Test Tube had decided to construct another small room just for Bot. They did have a room at the hotel, but sometimes it was just more convenient to stay in the lab. It was nearby Test Tube’s lab due to how Bot would oftentimes stay with Test Tube during her experiments late into the night.
Sometimes they would fall asleep hours before Test Tube was able to take a break, but other times, Test Tube was able to get done with an experiment early and read them a bedtime story. Those were her favorite nights, she always enjoyed watching as Bot slowly slipped into the comfort of sleep. But, on nights like these, she was content to bring them to bed.
Test Tube gently opened the door with one hand, keeping Bot carefully balanced between her body and other arm as she did. She laid them on the bed before tucking them in. Test Tube stayed standing for a moment, just watching Bot as they peacefully slept. They looked so innocent like this, oblivious to how horrible the world is, oblivious to the fact that their mother figure didn’t see them in a similar yet opposite light, oblivious to the fact that their relationship wasn’t exactly normal.
Test Tube let out another sigh. This was wrong, she shouldn’t act on this feeling. Everyone had feelings, especially ones that they shouldn’t act on. It was normal to feel things that shouldn’t be acted on, but this just felt like it was crossing a line.
She shouldn’t be thinking this over when she was in Bot’s room, but watching the small object was calming in a way. Maybe it was because of her feelings for them, or maybe it was just one of the motherly instincts that was left over from right after she had invented them, but either way it felt good to just stay here and watch.
At some point, she had decided to sit down in the chair near Bot’s bed that she had used to read them bedtime stories when they were able to make it back to their room awake. She couldn’t quite remember when she had decided to do so, but it didn’t quite matter right now.
Test Tube continued to watch Bot for what was probably hours. Time seemed to blur as she watched the small object sleep. She knew that she should leave and go back to her notes, but something about them made it feel like she just couldn’t turn away. It was almost like a magnetic pull. No matter how hard she tried to resist it, she was just pulled back in.
Finally, she was able to overcome the pull. She got up and went back to her lab. Test Tube tried to continue where she had left off with her notes, but she just couldn’t. Her mind was just too preoccupied with the object in the other room. She knew that this was important work and that she needed to focus on this now. It wasn’t going to get done by itself after all, but she just couldn’t. She couldn’t ignore that pull. That horrible pull that she should feel disgusted at for even feeling.
Test Tube looked down at her notes once more before deciding that it could wait until the morning. She wouldn’t be able to do them right now anyways, so what was the point in trying to force herself to.
When she finally crashed onto her bed, she felt like she could pass out at any moment. The only thoughts that she could form before she passed out were about Bot. No matter how tired she was, she just couldn’t stop thinking of that adorable object.
