Stress smiled, hugging NPG. "Great job! You did amazin on that," she turned to RG. "You did too, these pies are delicious."

"But I did better!" the smaller robot smiled. "Can I have more pie now?"

"Sure, bunny." Stress nodded, taking a thin slice of apple pie into the boy's plate. "Isky, do you want to try some? We spent a few hours on this, after all."

The Swede looked up from their communicator. "What? Oh- uh, yeah." He walked over to the group, setting the old remote onto the table. "Sorry, it's just been a few minutes past 12, and I've just been wondering..."

"Oh, honey! Grian will get back soon enough. It takes him a few minutes to fly here from the main island." She slid them a small plate, grabbing their communicator at the same time. "Now, you aren't getting so stressed about nothing until you have a little snack."

Iskall laughed, looking over at Stress. "Why are you so amazing? You're so amazing with kids and you're amazing at cooking, and-"

"Oh shut up, you're just my big omega joyfriend of doom! I wouldn't do anythin' less for you, sweetie."

The brunette blushed. "Stressie, there are children here!"

"I'm fine with it, honestly," Robot Grian said through a bite of pie. "Nothing too bad with it, you just like each other. It's good for kids to understand that people will show romantic affection towards each other, but it's also important to let children know that friendship between those of opposite- or in your case, different- genders is completely fine and shouldn't always be taken romantically."

"Where in the hel- heck did you learn that?" Stress smiled, taking a bite of her dessert.

"I find myself looking through my dad's library when I'm bored, there's some good books in there. I learn a lot too, there's so many interesting subjects in it."

"Any downsides to reading through your dad's entire book stash?" Iskall smiled. "Stressie, this is amazing pie."

"There are so many books, I've only gotten myself through a few of them. Plus," He pulled a thick book out of his small satchel. "I find some weird books in there. See, this is The American Girl's Handybook from 1887 and 1898. Out of date activities I'll never find myself really doing, but it's fun to read nonetheless."

The cyborg smiled. "You're smart for someone your age, kiddo."

"And I'm almost 20."

"I'm a teenager!" NPG cried, jumping out of Stress's lap. I'm gonna find some caterpillars now." He stepped over to the corner of the room, picking up a plastic cup from the ground and plopping down next to a basket.

"Oh, please. Aren't robot years different than human years?"

"Well, you see-"

A figure burst through the front door, quickly stomping down the hallway and into the doorway at the end of it, slamming the door behind him.

"Gri, you okay? It's pouring out there, d'you need a towel?" Iskall stood up from the table, stepping to the threshold of the room. "Hmm. Okay, you guys stay here. I'll go make sure he's okay."

"You? But I'm his kid!"

"And I've been his best friend since 2021, and have been a close friend since 2018. Be quiet," and they stepped out, heading to the old office.

RG sighed, stepping over to sit where the Swede had just been. "So, uh..."

"They're like that, don't mind it. They've just been really attached to your poor dad for a few years now," Stress muttered, putting her hand over the robot's own.

"Hm, I guess," he muttered. "Life's just been... weird these past few years! It's really annoying how he just..."

"Go on," the woman smiled. "I'll be here as long as you need, bun. NPG- Enjie? He's just gotten to looking for caterpillars on the ground."

RG sighed, leveling his breath for a few seconds. "Well, dad's just been weird for long as I remember. He makes good jokes, he has the best games. He shows us through his old photo albums of when he was younger and when he came to his first Hermiton all the time.

"But that's just the problem," he sighed again, setting a hand under his chin. "He always says he's gone through every single one he owns every time we go through them, but he has a few old ones at the top of his shelves. They're most clearly photo albums, yearbooks, you know. Books of people and photos and memories. Sometimes I think of going through one or two when he's not at home, but I always feel guilty when I think of doing so, my integrity just stares at me in the face and curses me out."

"Well, have you seen what's on the covers of 'em? Like, the bit that's shows out on the bookshelf?"

"The spines? Yes. Some of them have some scribbled handwriting, some of them old typing. I don't really understand them," he stretched a bit in his seat, looking over at the old analog clock over the doorway.

"Well, what do they say?" Stress stood up, walking over to the cooking area behind RG. "Don't mind me, just makin some tea for myself an' maybe your dad and Isky if they decide to calm down a bit an' get a snack."

"Hmm, let me think," the robot tapped a silver spoon against the table for a minute before looking back up and turning to the lady. "I think there were some old high school yearbooks- maybe two or three years worth. There were some old ones with purple spines- some weird sign made of dots and Ls and weird angles. In some sort of square shape."

The brunette visibly tensed up from that last point, turning around from the cabinet she was looking through. "Oh, sweetie, those aren't the nicest books... were there any others?"

"Uh... some ones- a bit younger, I would think- with some weird labels and abbreviations on them."

"What symbols an' things?" Stress went back to her regular cooking pace, quick and nimble.

"Uh... some white 'A' with one line replaced with some jewel. The other had 'MJ' on it? And the final had 'S6' and 'S7' plastered on it."

"Oh... oh dear," Stress muttered. "I think I know what those are on about."

"Wait, really?" The robot smiled. "What do they mean, then?"

"Hun, I don't think I can tell you," the brunette frowned. "I don't think your dad would want you to know just yet."

"Pleaseee? Nobody ever tells me anything around here! Dad keeps just almost mentioning something, but then he stops and says something else! It is just so annoying, I feel like I'm not allowed to learn anything!"

"Oh hun..." Stress stepped over to the threshold, looking down the hallway to her friend's office. "I don't think those two are coming out in a while, so I think I could give you a smidgen of info."

"Thank you so much!" RG grinned, throwing his arms around the woman. 

She laughed, pushing away from him slightly. "So, what're your questions, other than the earlier ones?"

"Oh, uhm..." RG paused. "Well first, why does my Dad never let me read those books?"

"Well, his highschool wasn't the very best. He moved to this little town when he graduated, and he stayed there for a few years. But something happened, and he moved again, this time to his first Hermiton. Then things happened a year or two there, and we all moved here."

"What exactly makes you people move from place to place? I wasn't outside half as much as I am now."

"Well, towns and islands fill up, fights happen, and we need to move. Sometimes, we get new people, like your dad. Sometimes, we leave people behind," She muttered that last part, fiddling with a small flower in her coat pocket.

The robot frowned, squinting his eyes. "Why do you leave people behind?"

"Well, sometimes they don't want to leave, so we let them stay until they want to come. Sometimes they want to go, just leave for the rest of the world. And sometimes, we can't find them."

"What do you mean "Can't find them"!? These are people, right? Shouldn't you treat them as that?!"

"Well, yes," Stress muttered. "Wels locked himself up in his small mansion once, we ended up forgetting about him as months went by, and how the vines and flowers started climbing up the walls."

"Well, he would have stepped out to get things like food and new clothes!"

"Yes, but he had tons of food an' small farms inside, and he slept most of the time til Cub went in and got him out."

"Wait, wha-"

"Don't mind it. Now, what else is on your mind?"

"Stressie?"

The two looked around to the corner of the room, where NPG sat next to the two old baskets of leaves and apples. He had a few lime green caterpillars crawling around on his lower left leg, and a few crumpled leaves in his hands. "Stressie, I have a question?"

"Yes? Do you want me to get a jar for your inchworm friends?" The brunette smiled lightly, standing up from her chair to get closer to the boy.

"I can do that!" The boy smiled. "But question!"

"Okay, what is it then?"

"So you and Isky like each other..."

Stress blushed a bit. "Yea?"

"And so do Bubble and Sc- uh- Scar?"

"Yes, they do." Stress glanced over at RG warily before kneeling down next to the shorter boy. "An' what about that?"

"And Daddy shows me books with mommies and daddies and stuff like that..."

"Yes?"

"Do I have a Mommy? Or a Daddy 2?"

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(1,622 words)

Woooooo long time chapter