A/N: Hey guys! If anybody's wondering, the main character of this one-shot is the 'smarter-than-Oona' Oonabot who did the training video on repairing Oonabots' shape circuits. It was between the episodes Flawed Squad/Creature Whisperer, I think? Don't quote me on that. :P Enjoy!

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"Goodnight, Twenty-four!"

The half-powered down Oscarbot grinned crookedly at the dark-haired girl, his oversized glow-in-the-dark sunglasses sitting askew on top of his head.

"Twenty-four!" he replied enthusiastically, though his voice was quiet, and his tone drooped sleepily at the end. He closed his eyes and twitched once as he fell into his nearly off, power-saving mode, looking very comfortable as he went still.

The lone Oonabot smiled fondly, watching in content for a moment before hopping over to where the final Oscarbot would be sleeping. Definitely not to her surprise, the twenty-fifth Oscarbot compartment was empty.

She rolled her eyes, turning around to face the lab's lunch table.

"Twenty-Five, do you have to have tea before bed? You know it keeps you up," she reprimanded, hands on her hips. Try as she might, she couldn't get the twitch of a smile that was tugging at her face to go away.

The single Oscarbot sat quietly at the table, blueprints spread out in front of him and a cup of tea in his hand. He blinked and stared up at her, his expression an odd mix of guilt and feigned innocence.

"Twenty-five?" he asked in surprise, gesturing to himself in apparent bewilderment. To his credit, he did glance at his half-empty mug and furrow his eyebrows slightly, setting it reluctantly back on the table.

The girl gave him a look, raising an eyebrow at him. "Yes, you," she replied, clearly unimpressed. "Didn't Oscar say you needed to be in bed before eleven? It's already a quarter to twelve."

"Twelve!" chirped a sudden voice from across the room. The Oonabot's expression softened, and she chuckled, glancing to the source of the noise. An Oscarbot had leaned over and stuck his head out of his compartment, blinking tiredly, but clearly interested.

"Sorry, Twelve. I was just talking to Twenty-five," she replied, smiling apologetically. "You can go back to sleep."

The Oscarbot's eyes widened slightly in understanding, and he nodded, giving a crooked, nearly-covered yawn before retreating back into his area. "Twelve-twelve," she heard him mumble, and she bade him goodnight in return.

The Oonabot turned back to Twenty-Five, resuming her eyebrow-raised, hands-on-hips position.

"Well?" she asked, raising her other eyebrow expectantly.

He fidgeted for a moment, as if debating with himself, before breaking her gaze and rolling his eyes upward in an attempt to retain some of his pride. He held up his hands in defeat, sighing tiredly.

"Twenty-five, twenty-five..." he muttered, looking back down as he shuffled his papers into a neat pile.

"That's better," she observed as he worked, causing him to throw her an unimpressed look. She quickly grinned back, the picture of innocence. "What?"

"Twenty-five," he grumbled, standing up to put the blueprints away. Returning to the table, he grabbed his half-full tea mug and neared the back counter with it. After several moments of deliberation while hovering over the lab's sink, the robot finally hurried over to the mini-fridge to stick his remaining tea inside it. Probably to save it for morning, the Oonabot mused. That robot had an unhealthy liking for tea.

She smirked politely, before breaking into a real smile.

"Sorry, Two-Five," she chirped, stepping out of the way back to his wall compartment. It had been closed, the only way to see inside being through the small, triangular window on the front. She pressed a button on the wall, and a section of door slid upward to reveal another Oscar-sized chamber. "I have direct orders from up top to make sure you guys go to sleep."

She winked as Twenty-Five walked past. He pretended to ignore her, but the expression on his face betrayed his mild amusement, though it was otherwise less than impressed.

"Hey; don't look at me like that!" the Oonabot drawled, holding up her hands in playful warning. "I can ask you to go to sleep, or I can tell you a really boring story—and I know a lot of 'em!—you get to choose." She grinned as he rolled his eyes again, reaching behind his back to flip a switch or two.

"Twenty-five," he replied good-naturedly, hitting the button on the wall that turned out the compartment lights. Quickly afterwards, his head drooped and his shoulders sagged; limbs clicking into a locked position.

She smiled in response, folding her hands neatly behind her back. "Goodnight, Twenty-Five," she bade him, turning to head back to the door of the lab. Before she could go more than a few steps, however, the studious Oscarbot motioned sleepily to the front area of the lab.

"Twenty-five," he murmured informatively, almost looking a bit concerned. The Oonabot frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"He's awake again?" she asked in mild disbelief, but the girl got no reply. The Oscarbot had already gone into his powered-down mode.

She shook her head, sighing internally.

"One, what am I going to do with you?" she whispered, turning to make a beeline for a certain spot outside of the lab.

----

Sure enough, in the little cornered alcove by the entryway to the lab, there sat a stiff figure, leaning on the wall as he loosely hugged his bent knees.

The Oonabot rolled her eyes at this, trying to keep quiet as she approached her robotic friend.

"One," she reprimanded with a good-natured sigh, folding her arms as she stood beside him. The Oscarbot did no more than shift imperceptibly at her presence.

"...Ona," he finally greeted in that Oscar-like robotic voice of his, and she broke into a grin at hearing the name she'd semi-secretly chosen for herself.

"Why can you say that and nothing else cool?" she half-teased, half-wondered, making a face in curiosity.

There was silence for a moment.

"...One," he eventually answered, still not looking at her. She couldn't help but marvel at the slight robotic echo in his pre-recorded voice.

I keep forgetting he's a prototype.

"Riiight..." Ona mused, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Oscarbot #1 made no move to get up or continue making conversation, so the Oonabot sat down next to him, putting her chin in her hand and propping an elbow on a crossed leg.

"Y'know, I'm kinda supposed to make sure you guys get to sleep on-time," she reminded him, giving the robot a friendly poke. Finally, he seemed to break out of his reverie, pulling his arms off his bent knees and looking over to smile at her.

"One," he acknowledged quietly with a half-shrug and a nod, looking back out across the room. Ona raised an eyebrow and made a face.

"I mean, technically, I shouldn't even have to do anything because we are all on sleep timers," she hinted with a pointed nudge, before coughing inconspicuously into her fist. "Cough-cough. Cough."

...Well, maybe slightly less than inconspicuously. She was still working on that whole 'subtlety' thing. That, and she wasn't quite sure how to cough.

One merely smiled slightly and gave the Oonabot a look, at which she quickly paused and drew back, chucking awkwardly.

"Okay, okay; can't get on you for disabling it because I'm awake too; I remember," she relented, holding up her hands in defense. She leaned on him playfully, making a show of waving her hands for emphasis. "Even though SOMEBODY—hint hint, cough—could REALLY use the time to recharge..."

The Oscarbot gave a wry smile and leaned away from her, causing her to lose balance and nearly tip over. "Hey!" she yelped, making a face and pushing off of him to sit back up straight. He narrowed his eyes good-naturedly, but she just stuck out her tongue. "You deserved that," she decided simply.

Smiling briefly, One looked away, going back to his usual unemotional expression. Ona leaned on the wall next to him, rearranging her legs so they were bent in an upside-down 'v' and tucked close like his were. If the Oscarbot noticed he was being copied, he tactfully said nothing.

The pair stayed like that for a few minutes, comfortably silent except for the occasional shifting and drumming of fingers by Ona. Eventually, the more active robot decided she couldn't take the quietness anymore, so she attempted conversation.

"So!" she began curiously, though not without wincing in a bit of guilt upon seeing her friend flinch at the sudden volume. She quickly made a few internal adjustments to turn her sound down a few notches. "Anything interesting happen since the last time you felt lonely enough to sit out here and wait for me?" She grinned cheekily, snorting when the Oscarbot chuckled and swatted at her.

Almost seeming to have loosened up a bit, One leaned more fully back against the wall, giving a little, jerky wave at nothing in particular. "One-one; one one..." he replied vaguely, mostly shrugging in reply. He retracted his arm and folded it with the other one, gazing off at one of the dim nightlights across the room.

The Oonabot frowned, raising an eyebrow with a half-smirk. "That exciting, huh?" she replied jokingly, using a good dosage of what she believed was known as 'sarcasm'.

One looked like he was contemplating a serious reply, but she merely chuckled and continued. "Doesn't she ever get tired of juice? She's human, isn't she? Heh; she doesn't even run on the stuff! Right?"

A pause.

"...Humans don't run on juice, do they? Oona has way too much energy for someone who never drinks it if they do. Way."

The Oscarbot only gave a shrug in response, half-curling back up into an angular ball. "One," he murmured in reply, glancing away.

Another few moments passed, and for every moment that the lab-coated robot remained silent and stiff, Ona became more convinced that something was up.

"Sooo..." she began, glancing casually upward at some nondescript point on the opposite wall. She glanced at her dejected-seeming companion and frowned slightly in concern.

"...Everything... okay, One? You seem awful quiet. I mean, I know it's late, but that kind of thing doesn't really affect us 'bots, huh?" She elbowed him with a grin, but apparently her humor wasn't all that funny, because he didn't appear to respond. "...Being awake late, I mean? Getting tired? Y'know?"

"One," he replied quietly. His video lens lubrication slides activated once as he stared blankly off at the floor. What was that called? Oh yes; blinking.

Ona frowned. What's wrong, One? she wanted to ask. Why the long face? What can I do that'll cheer you up? But if there was ever one thing she'd learned from watching her creator, it was that sometimes, saying the first thing that came to mind wasn't the best option there was. So, she went quiet, gears whirring in her brain as she tried to figure out what to do.

Absentmindedly, she glanced up to look at him, noticing the way his glasses and eyes glinted in the green light. His face and sandy hair were covered in a purple shadow, giving him a forlorn look.

Well, she assumed the light was green, and his hair sandy. The wavelengths she sensed felt right, but Oona hadn't programmed her to see color. Yet.

He was still slumped a bit over his knees, arms folded, gaze distant. Sure, One wasn't always the most upbeat of the Oscarbots, and she knew in her head that robots couldn't actually feel emotion, but...

He still looked sad.

She frowned again, eyes drifting back to the floor in front of her. Questions were flooding her computing mind, but she turned them down in favor of a small, obscure thought that she noticed faintly in the back of her head.

Maybe... he just needs a friend.

Loneliness was a very strange thing that she didn't quite understand. She knew she wished for company whenever she had none, but why? Humans craved interaction, for whatever reason, but why would they program conditional sadness into their inventions?

The rational part of her mind was telling her it didn't compute, but somewhere inside, she supposed she did understand. Maybe it was because Oona was so illogical—even with Oscar's help, some of that odd thinking leeched over into her robots' designs. Whatever the case, she suddenly felt a new objective come to mind.

Maybe he does need a friend.

Ona turned to her companion and grinned mischievously, eyes glittering in the dim light.

"Hey..." she began, poking him with growing enthusiasm until he looked up. His brown eyes met her dark ones, briefly, and her grin got wider.

"Do you want to hear a really good joke?" she asked, eyebrows up in eager curiosity.

Behind him, the flashing stick lights of the weird art-deco lighting fixture above the back hallway flashed green, then blue, then back again, and for a long, quiet moment, the Oscarbot only stared.

Slowly, but ever so surely, One regained his usual awkward smile.

"That'd... be nice," he whispered under his breath, face softening at his robotic friend's big heart.

Ona, already having launched happily into the setup for her joke, didn't even notice.

---------

"...And that's why I named my cat Suspenders!"

Oscar chuckled quietly at his friend's animated conclusion to her story, glancing around the darkened hallway as they walked.

"Heh, great story, Oona," he murmured in reply, though he looked distracted as he squinted through the darkness and into the approaching main room of Headquarters. How late was it? Certainly past his bedtime, that was for sure. The life of a scientist was a lonely one.

...Well, granted, less lonely than a bit tiring, especially when you had to go on yet another unscheduled quest for some elusive gadget part. Ah well, it had been worth it; the Triskadecazoid Microtron had been lost for quite a few decades... especially after the slime pandas took it.

Oscar shuddered.

His assistant, understandably (and perhaps fortunately), didn't seem to notice his thoughts.

"Thanks! That's why I told it to ya," Oona chirped, before looking incredibly sleepy and giving an immense, tired yawn. Just as quickly, she perked right back up again, grabbing at her own suspenders as she continued relating her thoughts aloud. "I figured; Oona, if there's anybody who's going to listen to a half-hour story about your third grade summer vacation, I'm prrretty sure it's Oscar. 'Cuz that's the kinda guy he is! He'll even get ya back on track if you start going on a tangent about the unrelated but totally cool time you went to the zoo, and all the flamingos got out and then this monkey grabbed your hat, but you lost your pen, so you and your cousin had to figure out how to—"

The lab assistant was stopped mid-sentence as her friend suddenly froze, sticking his hand out to clap it over her mouth.

"Shh!" he whispered, standing quite still. It was then that Oona withdrew her tongue.

Noticing this, Oscar blinked in surprise and very quickly withdrew his hand, wiping it thoroughly on his lab coat. "Hey," he protested in a whisper, making a face.

Oona made a face of her own. "You don't rinse very well after you wash your hands," she whispered back in a conspiratorial manner, shaking her head. "Your hands smell all fresh, like oranges, but they taste like fake orange soap. Definitely not as nice. You should really consider changing soaps."

The scientist opened his mouth to reply in protest, then quickly closed it again, pausing before giving a brief wave as if to shoo the subject away. "Y—okay, maybe, but shh; listen," he repeated, voice lowering even further. Curious, Oona went silent and strained her ears and eyes, looking over his shoulder into the empty space of Headquarters.

There, seated on the the darkened floor, sat what looked much like themselves, leaning on a file cabinet in the center of the room and gazing aimlessly at the only source of discernible light in the large office—the circular lighting fixture over the hallway, the one with the flashing tube lights.

Currently, the figure that looked like Oona was talking, and the faint notes of her voice made it to their ears, though not clearly enough for anything to be made of them. The figure that looked like Oscar nodded once in awhile, occasionally taking his gaze off the lights to look at his companion.

The two real scientists stared at the odd scene for a moment, before simultaneously backing up quietly into the hall.

"...Question," Oona whispered, half-raising a hand and frowning curiously. "If we are in here..." Here, she motioned vaguely at their surroundings, turning slightly so she didn't hit the other scientist with her arms, "...then why are we also... over there?"

The sandy-haired scientist peeked back out into the main room, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I... guess it must be one of the Oscarbots and an Oonabot," Oscar replied slowly, not noticing as his friend popped up over his shoulder again to observe the scene.

There, the Oonabot was motioning grandly to emphasize something, and ended up throwing herself off balance and rolling over sideways. She lay there, propped up on her elbow, and seemed to laugh for a minute, before the Oscarbot rolled his eyes and reached out to grab her sleeve for a jerky help up.

Oscar pulled his face into a rather uncertain look of bewilderment. "...But what are they doing... out here?" A quick glance at his watch told him... nothing, since it was too dark to see. He held it up in the light and squinted, fiddling with his glasses. "...It's almost midnight. Didn't you program your Oonabots to go to sleep at night? I did with the Oscarbots," he reasoned in confusion.

Oona merely shrugged, eyes widening as she watched the pair begin to try to playfully shoulder-bump each other over. Only the Oonabot seemed to be really trying; the Oscarbot's attempts at bumping her were all light, awkward, and rather careful.

"Oh my goodness. Look at them being friends. That is so cute," whispered Oona, and Oscar could literally see her eyes get big and sparkle in the dark. "...Also, yes, I did set 'em on timers. Just like ya said, boss!" she chirped, smiling proudly as she tucked her thumbs in her belt.

She then paused, however, and gave a slight frown. "Although, I guess there is the chance that they read their instruction manuals and know how to turn the sleep schedule off..." She scrunched up her eyebrows and stared thoughtfully at the floor. "...buuut, the manuals are in a top-secret location, so it's super unlikely that anybody could find them!" she finished cheerily, putting her hands on her hips. Oscar only blinked in bewilderment.

"...Didn't I... accidentally knock over your lunchbox that one time, and all your manuals spilled out?"

It was Oona's turn to clamp a hand over his mouth, peering out and glancing worriedly into the hall.

"Shh!" she whispered, looking over her shoulder as if she expected an eavesdropper to have been standing there all along. "Don't give away the secret. Someone might hear you, boss!"

Gently but stiffly, Oscar pulled her hand away from his mouth, making the politest eulgh face he could. "Uh... When exactly was the last time you washed your hands?" he asked in what he assumed was a good-natured tone. His face fell slightly as she speedily jerked her arm back to her side.

"This... morning," she replied, a bit sheepish. Misinterpreting Oscar's uncomfortable look, she nodded vigorously to show she was telling the truth. "Honest!"

Oscar opened his mouth for a moment, closed it, and then finally waved her off. "...Okay, I believe you," he informed her, trying not to look too discomforted. "Actually though, I think there's a rule about..." Upon noticing that his assistant's attention had already wandered, he trailed off, shaking his head. "...Never mind."

Oona was back in the doorway, peering out into the main room. Oscar, albeit hesitantly, followed suit.

The faint sounds of laughter reached where they stood, and the scientists watched in uncertain curiosity as their creations leaned on and joked with each other. The Oonabot appeared to have said something very funny, if the large, very-pleased-with-herself grin on her face was any indication. The Oscarbot appeared to find her humor amusing also, but his smile was much more reserved.

Oscar frowned, gears turning in his head.

"...Oscarbot #3?" he guessed in confusion, glancing up at his assistant. "Three gets kinda quiet like that sometimes."

Oona seemed too busy grinning at the scene to notice, but she did shrug in reply.

"I bet it's One," she guessed in a secretive whisper. With that, she went quiet, tilting her head as if straining to hear any hind of conversation.

Oscar furrowed his eyebrows, left a bit clueless. "Maybe, but... what makes you say that?"

The girl shrugged, not appearing to notice as he edged up beside her, leaning out of the alcove a bit to squint at the two robots. The Oscarbot was saying something now, but his voice was so quiet compared to the Oonabot's that Oscar couldn't even begin make it out.

"It's my favorite number!" Oona reasoned, finally pausing to toss her boss a bright grin. "I mean, heh, Oona means one! C'mon! Like, what else needs to be said?"

Even squinting out of the shadows into an equally dimly lit room, Oscar could see that she might've had a point. Oscarbot #1 did have a slightly greener bowtie than the later Oscarbots—just like this one seemed to have.

What... are they doing? he wondered, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. I mean, it's great that One is getting out there and making friends like I suggested! But still...

A barely stifled, very tired yawn interrupted his thoughts.

Oscar blinked, glancing up at his assistant. Even though he could only see her dim silhouette, it was startlingly easy to tell that she was worn out after the day's adventures. Her hair was tangled, her lab coat was almost as scuffed as his was, and she was rubbing her eyes, blinking hard before resuming watching the two figures in the hall.

A little pang of guilt hit Oscar as he remembered something he'd known and yet forgotten about at the same time.

She's never been on a big important scientist mission before, has she?

A wave of tiredness washed over him, too, and suddenly, the pair of robots breaking curfew didn't seem so important anymore.

Fighting back the urge to yawn in response, Oscar hesitated a moment before gently poking his friend in the shoulder.

"Hey, Oona?" he whispered, and she turned to stare at him, straightening up in all her sleepy attentiveness. He offered her a slight, tired smile. You did great today. "Why don't we get the chip back to the lab, and... we'll call it a night; heh! Okay?"

Oona, despite her best attempts at appearing eager to keep up with him, still looked very grateful. "If... if you're sure, boss!" she chirped quietly, flashing him a tired smile as she grabbed at her lapels. Oscar couldn't help but smile at the all-too-familiar action. "I mean, unless you need help with..." She paused, glancing away and using an arm in attempt to cover an utterly enormous yawn. "...anything?"

The scientist smiled, but quickly shook his head. "Oh, nah; I—I think that's enough for the day, heh."

The girl's eyebrows lowered in dismay, and she snapped quietly, looking playfully disappointed with herself. "It was the yawn, wasn't it?" she guessed, slumping her shoulders in resignation. Oscar began shaking his head and mouthing 'no', but this quickly changed into a reluctant '...yes.'

And, as if on cue, he suddenly couldn't help but to yawn right back at her. As soon as he registered what he'd done, he blinked, startled.

Yikes, hope these things aren't contagious...

Oona gave him a wry smile at this. Oscar only grinned sheepishly, before adding, "...It's... been a long day."

She grinned back, nodding in reply. A tired glint was in her eyes as she chucked. "Yeaaah... Copy that, boss."

Oscar chucked as well, grabbing at his own lapels. "Heh! Shall we go?"

"All ready—" Oona was forced to pause for a very long yawn. She gave a lopsided grin at her own tiredness, shrugging in a hey, what can you do manner. "—boss!"

"Heh, great!" Oscar turned back to the main hall, before pausing, and adding as an afterthought, "...We should probably put the robots to sleep though, shouldn't we? I mean, we wouldn't wanna leave them to just roam around Headquarters and—"

Oscar's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed a crucial, yet missing detail regarding his plan.

"They're... not there anymore, are they?"

Oona shook her head and chuckled, before heaving a contented sigh and stepping out into the dim light of the Main Office, on a straight course for the Lab.

"Last one there has to lock up for the niiight!" she sang, throwing him a grin over her shoulder as she broke into a slightly wobbly, tired-limbed run. Oscar tugged at his lapels, pausing to frown thoughtfully at this for a moment. Finally, it registered with him.

"H—hey! Oona!" he protested, twisting completely around once before facing the right way and trying to break into a jerky run. "Wait up!"

Oona laughed as she easily reached the closed door to the Lab and yanked on it. Suddenly, she stopped and blinked, frowning cluelessly as she shook the handle a few times. It didn't seem to budge.

The door only rattled, and Oscar couldn't hide a chuckle at the look of total bewilderment on his assistant's face.

Pulling the keys out of his pocket, he swung them around his fingers, and by some miracle, they didn't fly off and slide under something across the room like they usually did when he tried that.

"Y'miiight need these," Oscar suggested, raising an eyebrow good-naturedly. "They lock automatically," he explained, not minding her exaggerated sigh. He reached the wall beside the door, slipped the key in a triangular keyhole, and the green-tinted glass hummed as it retreated back to the edges of the doorframe.

Oona made a face, swiping the key from him when he offered it to her. Oscar pulled at his lapels and grinned playfully, following his reluctant friend into the Lab.

Thoroughly tired, but happy from a day of successful adventuring, the two scientists chattered as they cleaned up the work they'd left that morning. Neither noticed the two doppelgängers sprawled out on the balcony across the room, smiling fondly as they watched their creators.

Ona glanced over at One, smiling and cocking an eyebrow in earnest curiosity.

"Feeling any better?" she asked quietly, brown eyes glinting in the flickering greenish light.

One grinned, honestly and broadly.

"One," he replied simply, his happy eyes glittering right back.

-------

A/N: I JUST HAD TO GET THIS DONE AND I FINALLY DID IT. AFTER UNTOLD WEEKS OF HAVING THIS AS AN UNFINISHED DRAFT. WHOO! Yeah! Take that, procrastination! Uh huh, uh huh... Dance party! Oh yeah!

(Celebration noises continue for several minutes)

Okay, yeah, anyways. Theory time! One can talk—Oscar programmed him to. However, it took him quite a while to figure out how to say anything other than "one," so by that time Oscar decided that he could understand his robots plenty well enough without redesigning the whole speech program, so he didn't create the others to talk. One's voice is really Oscar-y and robotic, though, so he's a little bit shy about ever... actually using it. He'd like to work up the courage to talk to Ona (when she's listening :P), though. After all, doesn't Oona mean 'one'?

#I DON'T KNOW WHY I SHIP ROBOTS #I JUST DO OKAY #SUE ME

#actually don't sue me #it wouldn't be a profitable thing to do

#you would probably get $10 and a hamster from me, neither of which would suffice to pay the lawyer you presumably hired #so WHO'S LOSS IS IT NOW, TOUGH GUY???
#S H A B O O M

Hashtags aside, thanks for reading my random fluff about random characters, and stay tuned! Updates may appear at any given time without warning! Or they may never appear. MWAHAHAHA! ...Kidding! Expect plenty more from me! I love writing about these guys! ;D