Work Text:
Judy opened the door to the Robinson house and took off her scrubs as soon as she was through the threshold. Her body ached despite the relatively slow day, so she took her time.
"I'm home!" She called, wrapping the robe hanging by the doorway specifically for her around her waist.
"Hey, honey! How was work?" Her mom replied back, the sound coming from the living room.
"Oh, y'know, busy. Thankfully it was a regular eight hour shift, but I'm still pretty tired." She said, stretching as she walked into the next room.
"We were going to go to the library today, did you not want to come then?" Maureen asked, leaning back on the sofa to regard her daughter.
Judy hummed in thought, contemplating for a moment. "Actually, I could go. I just need to hop in the shower quickly if that's okay." She gestured to the bathroom.
Her mother nodded and waved her away, "Go ahead, go ahead. Take as long as you need, there's no rush."
"Thanks mom!"
Judy took her hair out of the shower cap as she walked down the halls. The house was strangely quiet.
“Where is everyone?” She asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Penny is out with Vijay and their friends. Don is still working, but your dad and Will should be home soon.” Maureen responded, biting into an apple as she looked out of one of the windows.
The food reminded Judy of her hunger and she made her way over to the fridge.
“Oh, Robin made you a snack.” Her mother piped up, directing her attention to the counter.
She smiled as she looked at the plate. No one here had really taught the robots to cook as Judy and her dad were the only ones with any knowledge on how to do it. The family relied heavily on snacks, but regardless, it was nice to not have to get them herself.
“It was really sweet. The second he heard you get home he started getting that ready. Have you been teaching him about nutritional foods?” Her mom asked, eyeing the collection of food groups.
“I have whenever I get the chance. Where is he, by the way? And Scarecrow?” She looked around for the two robots and popped a grape in her mouth.
“They should be around here. I did see them climbing those trees earlier.” Maureen said, squinting into the tree line but seeing no sign of the robots.
Then both women heard the garage door open. Will was speaking excitedly, followed by the audible clanks of metallic footsteps.
“Hey, Judy. How was work?” John asked upon spotting her.
She smiled and shrugged, “Tiring.” before looking at her brother and the robots he was talking to. “Are we all going to the library together?”
“Nah, I want to study some new rocks I found,” Will replied, briefly showing them to his mom and sister before running to his room.
John paused, looking where his son had run off to before turning to his wife, "Hey, doesn't he have overdue books to return?"
Maureen sighed heavily and nodded, patting the stack of books beside her. "Yes, I guess I will be bringing these backs. Who wants to join me?"
"I will. It's nice getting out of the house. Not much to do." He replied, picking the books up before looking to Judy, "What about you, Jude?"
"Yeah. I have medical journals I need to check out, and some I need to return," She said, finishing off the rest of her snack, which prompted her to look over to the two robots standing idly in the foyer, "Do you want to come too? We can pick out some books for me to read to you both."
Robin nodded and looked to his companion, the two sharing a brief and silent conversation. The copper machine didn't particularly enjoy public outings, too many people. Regardless, they would all be together, which helped ease some of the anxiety the activity caused.
"Yes." He answered for the both of them.
"Great. I think Penny has some books that need returning as well. Everyone grab what you need, and we can head out." Maureen said, prompting everyone to do as told while she grabbed the keys to their vehicle.
The library wasn't especially busy at this time, which they were all quite thankful for due to various reasons. Once the books were returned, they spread out to do what they needed to do.
Judy's partners stuck by her side the whole time. Robin occasionally wandered a bit to pick out books, mostly going by visuals as he couldn't really read what they said. Then he could take whatever he had picked out over to her to translate for him, and if he or their other partner was interested in what the book said, it was added to the cart.
Scarecrow just wanted to be around people he trusted and he didn't contribute much to picking out books. His gaze mostly roved around the room, trying to be aware of everything going on around him at once. At least he acknowledged the books that his robotic partner asked his opinion on, but that was all.
Neither of his partners pressed him to interact too much, and he was silently appreciative of it. He was allowed to do what he needed to feel as safe as he could in this space, and being vigilant helped. It also caused his attention to be brought to a large device that some children were banging their fists on.
The sounds that came out were jumbled and quite horrible, but when one of them settled and seemed to actually make an attempt, the results were almost pleasing to hear. Almost.
At the very least his curiosity was piqued and he watched as two women beckoned the children over. The little family left together and his attention returned to the device. His partners were still looking over books behind him, so he hesitantly wandered over to the object of his curiosity.
No one else approached it, making him feel safe enough to inspect it. Like many of the human's designs, it was strange but simple looking. The polish was scuffed and he lightly traced a claw tip over the scratched up surface. Most of its build didn't produce the noise, causing him to hesitate when he hit something that did.
Pausing, he looked around again, but nothing had happened and the humans continued with their activities. He settled a bit, returning to his curiosity as he tapped on one of the moving parts. Again it produced a sound, this one of a slightly different pitch than the area he had touched before. Each fragment looked the same, either black or white, but they all sounded unique.
He didn't pound on it like he had seen the children doing, but he did allow his claws to run along each section, the various sounds playing one after the other pleasantly. It almost reminded him of home the way it shifted and vibrated with echoes like their own language did. There was still an alien quality to it, but he didn't mind.
It was unlikely he was using the device correctly, but he played around with the pieces, listening to their sounds. Once he figured out which ones played what he wanted, his claws began to move across them. It was purely methodical, like having a conversation in his language. He couldn't get the translations perfect, but he liked what he heard.
Robin heard it as well and approached along with their human partner. The two of them watched as their third played on the piano. He knew it was used for music and expressing emotions, which the other bot was certainly creating, but he could also recognize the patterns that most humans would not.
"That almost sounds like you. Is he speaking with the piano?" Judy asked softly, unable to keep the smile from her face as she watched the copper coloured bot play.
"Yes."
"What is he saying?" She continued, trying to see if she could recognize anything, but the blend of musical notes and alien patterns were impossible for her to figure out together. It seemed her partner was also thrown as she only received a shrug.
The conversation behind Scarecrow startled him out of his focus and he stopped, turning to look at his partners. Judy smiled brighter and gently clapped for him, while the blue bot looked at him curiously. He ducked down and curled his limbs closer to himself, avoiding their gazes as embarrassment rose within him.
"That was beautiful," She praised, trying to ease him, "I don't know how to play, but maybe we can get you some lessons?"
He didn't reply, instead looking at the device, touching over it again. He did like it.
"Judy! Time to go!" Maureen shouted from the checkout line, waving her daughter over.
"Okay!" Judy called back, before looking to her partners, "We can come back another day. Let's go and get these books."
Judy sat on her bed and leaned her back against the wall. She crossed her legs to make room for the copper bot attempting to lay on her lap, trying not to wince at the full weight of his head. Scarecrow curled in on himself as much as he could, just managing to fit into the space beside her.
Her bed wasn't particularly small, but Robin stood awkwardly as he tried to figure out where he could fit. Laying down certainly wasn't an option, so he followed along when she patted the spot on her other side. It put him nearly off the edge of the bed, but he mirrored her position, mindful not to completely lean back on the wall.
He watched as her hand gently stroked along the spines of the other robot's back, who was thrumming with content. This development was surprising, but pleasing as his gaze focused on the idle movement. He also took note of her being careful not to touch their partner's head. Despite having a similar experience to his companion, there were less reluctance in allowing her to touch his own head.
She paused as she felt her other partner begin to seek contact as well. Reaching over, she grabbed some pillows and put them between herself and the large metal body beginning to lean on her. Thankfully he knew not to put too much of his weight on her, keeping most of it against the wall, but the added padding helped with her own comfort as she accepted the gesture.
His head rested against her own and she lightly traced along the plating with her free hand. Having two robots cuddling up with her and seeking contact would make reading to them especially difficult. He was already on the same page as he grabbed a book and held it for her.
"Teamwork." She laughed lightly, taking another moment to focus on rubbing her partners back, and head. Then she read the title aloud, before patiently waiting for the latter to open the book.
Her voice filled the room as she read over the pages, putting on various tones to the best of her ability as she spoke. Robin turned the pages for her, waiting for the pauses that indicated the words were done, as he still didn't recognize the physical language. Scarecrow hummed and warbled happily, his lights bobbing around lazily as he listened intently. Regardless of the lack of contribution to picking out the books, he was still interested, unbothered by his partners tastes.
Judy occasionally needed water and Robin passed it to her, helping her rehydrate as she stopped about halfway through the book. Only then did they both notice that Scarecrow had powered down, or 'fallen asleep'.
"I'm glad he's sleeping, but he's kind of squishing my leg, ouch." She winced, attempting to move, but his weight was too much for just her leg to move, and she didn't want to startle him by touching his head.
Robin was a bit more confident as he gently lifted the other bot's head, allowing their human partner to escape. The movement and new touch startled Scarecrow awake, causing him to sit up further.
"Sorry, I had to get up," Judy apologized, getting off of her bed and walking into his line of sight as she softly rubbed his arm, "You can go back to sleep. I need to get ready for work tomorrow."
Now with the extra room on the bed, Robin placed one of the pillows beneath the copper robot's head. Then he moved away from the wall to slide in to the space behind his partner, who had settled again. Their other partner put a pillow under his own head and kissed his globe.
"I'll see you both later." She said, walking towards the door.
"Love. You." Robin spoke up before she fully exited the room.
She paused, turning to smile at him as she watched him pull their other partner into an embrace. "I love you too."