Marriage of a Teenage Robot

The Marriage of a Teenage Robot
By Nintendo Maximus

"It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

Twenty-one-year-old Bradley Carbunkle rested himself on a log situated on a hill overlooking the town of Tremorton as the sky was painting itself with dusky hues. Sitting right next to him, walking her fingers on his shoulders, sat his blue-toned robotic girlfriend, Global Robotic Response Unit XJ-9. Or, as she preferred to be called, Jenny Wakeman.

"It sure is," Jenny answered her spiky-haired boyfriend's statement.

Brad stood up. "Of course, it's even better watching it with you."

Jenny stood up too. "It sure was sweet of you to bring me out here to watch it, Brad."

Brad put his arm around Jenny's shoulder. "Well of course it is, Jen. I'd do anything for you."

Jenny giggled. Then, without warning, she leapt on Brad and began to kiss him repeatedly. The two of them fell down onto the grass as Jenny continued her kissing assault on Brad, her lips making an especially passionate pet on his own from time to time.

In spite of the obvious difference in life forms, Jenny and Brad made a perfect couple. They had started out as a world-protection robot and her best human friend who happened to have much in common. Then came the day that Brad asked Jenny if she wanted to go on a date with him. Jenny, figuring that Brad wanted her to be his girlfriend, was more than happy to accept his proposition. Five years had passed; they had been dating since that day and were very much in love.

Brad smiled as Jenny continued to lay her lips everywhere on his face. Finally, after being kissed so many times he had little red hearts spinning circles around his head, he picked himself up and stood beside her again. After a while, he bent down, plucked a pink-and-yellow flower from the ground, and placed it by one of her pigtails.

"Happy anniversary, Jen," Brad said softly, and kissed her own cheek in the same manner.

"Happy anniversary, Brad," Jenny replied, returning it with a soft cheek-kiss of her own.

The wind whistled around the lovebirds as they stood there in silence and continued to watch the sun settle in for the evening.

After about two minutes, Brad broke the quiet. "Well, Jen, I suppose you're wondering why I asked you out here tonight."

"You're right, Brad." Jenny responded. "It is rather romantic that you asked me to come watch the sunset with you. But when you asked me out, you told me that you were going to surprise me. What were you referring to?" As she asked this, she rotated her head to face Brad.

"Yeah, about that..." Brad fiddled with his hair a bit before continuing. "Well, Jen, as you may know, we've been dating for five years now. People out there might think that it's preposterous, but it doesn't matter to me. The thing is..." Brad embraced and smiled at his lover. "I love you with all my heart, Jennifer."

Jenny smiled back, her eyes lowering halfway. "And you with all mine, Bradley," she replied, her metallic heart clinking rapidly inside her.

After (reluctantly) parting from the embrace, Brad scratched the back of his head nervously. "Now that I've made it clear why I picked this time for the occasion, it's time I did it."

Jenny was about to clap her hands over her mouth. "Brad... You mean..."

Brad got down on one knee. "I have a question to ask you. This question is one that will change our lives forever." As he said that, he reached his left hand into the corresponding pocket on his pants. When it emerged, it was holding out a sapphire engagement ring. Gazing into her eyes, he put his right hand on Jenny's and popped his question. "Jenny, will you marry me?"

Jenny's cheeks glowed a radiant blue as she looked at the ring in front of her as heart beat even faster, to the point that it practically sprung a leak. Her lovestruck smile got bigger until she finally replied, "Oh Brad, yes! You don't know how long I've waited to hear you ask that. I would love to become your wife! You've made me the happiest teenage robot in the world."

And with that, she firmly planted her metallic lips on his again. As Brad returned the kiss, he slipped the ring onto the middle finger of Jenny's right hand.

Ah... Brad thought as he kept his lips pressed against his new fiancée's. I feel like king of the world right now.

0-0-0

Months passed by like the turning of pages on a calendar as the preparations were made, until finally the big day arrived. The wedding was to be held at Tremorton Cathedral, and on a Sunday (obviously).

As the final preparations were being made for the matrimonial ritual, Jenny walked into the bride's chambers, humming some romantic music to match her joyful expression. I can't believe it's finally here! her thoughts processed. I'm finally getting married to my best friend turned secret crush turned boyfriend! She paused her thoughts for a moment there. ...Turned fiancée.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Jenny spoke to herself. "Well, let me check if I'm ready. I have something old; I guess maybe that'd be the tulips that Brad gave me on our first date. I've got something new; that's my dress itself. Something borrowed is these silver earrings. And something blue; well, I guess that would be me." On that last sentence, she observed her own self. With that, she smiled at herself. "I guess I'm ready."

"Not entirely, XJ-9," a very familiar voice was heard from behind. A voice Jenny knew all too well.

Jenny turned to face the beholder of the voice. She immediately recognized the figure opposite of her. It was none other than her creator and mother, Dr. Nora Wakeman. She had dressed herself up fittingly for her robo-daughter's wedding. She was wearing a formal yellow mother-of-the-bride dress that looked similar to her usual outfit.

"Mom?" Jenny stated the obvious. "What are you doing in my dressing room? Isn't it bad luck for me to be seen before the ceremony?"

"You didn't think I would miss my own daughter's wedding, did you?" Mrs. Wakeman stated.

"Well, not really," said Jenny. "I just didn't expect that you'd be coming in on me while I was getting ready. What is it you want to tell me, mom?"

"When you announced to me you and Bradley's engagement, XJ-9," Mrs. Wakeman explained, "I was a bit thrown off at first. After all, marriage between a robot and a human is quite odd."

Jenny rolled her eyes at her parental unit. "Do you have to remind me?"

"But now that you're going to become a wife," Mrs. Wakeman continued with a tear in her eye, "I have to say that I am happy to be able to see this day happen. It's so wonderful to know that my robot has grown up."

Jenny smiled brightly and jumped away from her mirror, hugging her mother as best she could. "Thanks, mom."

"You're very welcome, XJ-9," Mrs. Wakeman replied as the embrace was finished.

"Well, I'd better get into my gown," said Jenny, walking towards her changing space. "See you at the reception, mom!"

Mrs. Wakeman left the chamber, waving back at her handiwork. "Good luck, XJ-9."

0-0-0

There was quite a crowd gathering in the congregation. Outside the church, people from the local newspapers waited with their notepads and cameras. Obviously, the marriage of a human to a robot was going to make an interesting story.

At the front of the congregation stood Brad, all decked out in his ravishing black tuxedo and matching top hat. He wore a red bow tie on his neck and a corresponding red cummerbund. On his back, the tails of his jacket reached down to his knees. Under his top hat, which had a red band to match his bow tie and cummerbund, the spikes of his red-orange hair were neatly gelled. Small gold cuff links were clipped onto the ends of the sleeves of his white tuxedo shirt. Simply put, Brad Carbunkle was one fine-looking groom.

As he waited for the ceremony to begin, Brad turned to address his main attendant. "Thanks again for agreeing to be the best man, Sheldon."

"It's the least I can do, Brad."

Sheldon Lee may not have been a logical choice to be the best man, considering the crush he'd had on Jenny back in high school. In fact, he had been a bit saddened when he found out that Brad and Jenny were dating. But over time, his broken heart had managed to mend itself, and he had completely gotten over it by the time he was informed of Brad and Jenny's engagement. He was even willing to accept the offer to serve as the best man.

Dressed in his dark-grey best man's tux, Sheldon stood behind Brad and scratched himself for a bit. "I gotta say, Brad, that you are one lucky guy to be marrying someone like Jenny."

"Do you really think so?" Brad asked, adjusting his top hat slightly.

"Yeah, Brad," Sheldon replied. "I may have once had the same kind of feelings for Jenny that you do, but after getting over that, I can see that if Jenny was going to have a relationship with a human, you were the right choice."

"Thanks a lot, Sheldon. That means a lot coming from you." Brad then focused his attention on his ring bearer. "Tuck, stop fooling with the rings!"

Brad's fourteen-year-old brother, Tuck Carbunkle, stopped juggling the rings. "Ohh, why do I have to the hold onto these rings for you? It's so boring!"

"Oh, stop whining, Tuck," Brad urged. "The ceremony will be done with in about two hours. You won't have to hold the rings that long."

"Well, can't I at least loosen this suit?" bickered Tuck, referring to his own light grey tux. "I mean, do ring-bears honestly have to dress this way at weddings?"

"That's 'ring bearer'," Sheldon corrected. "And yes, they do."

"Don't worry, Tuck," said Brad as he adjusted his bow tie, "you get used to it. I did."

It was then that the wedding march began to blare all through the cathedral. Everyone turned their attention to Jenny as she emerged and began her walk down the aisle. For a robot, she looked absolutely gorgeous in her strapless white satin wedding gown, with its bodice wrapped around her arms and a metallic blue sash supporting the hem. Her elbow-length-gloved hands clutched her bouquet of yellow tulips. Round silver earrings hung on her head where ears would be. A silver tiara bearing little sapphires was situated between her pigtails, with her beautiful chapel-length veil protruding from it. As if it wasn't enough that Jenny wore a beautiful gown, her face was pretty as well. Small artificial eyelashes obtruded from her optical units, and light blue lipstick glazed her lips.

As she opened her eyes to glance at Brad, her cheeks glowed a light hue of blue. Her blush grew brighter as she took her place at the podium beside Brad and smiled at him. Smiling back at her, Brad began to blush himself.

"Well, this is it," Brad whispered.

"We're gonna be together forever," Jenny whispered back.

In the crowd, somewhere in the middle rows, troublesome cousins Brit and Tiff Krust watched with annoyed expressions.

"I cannot believe that titanium twerp is getting married before either of us," complained Brit.

"Yeah!" agreed Tiff. "What has she got that we don't?"

"Ah... dearly beloved..." The preacher looked somewhat taken aback at the fact that he was marrying a human to a robot. But after a brief pause, he continued his service. "Today, we are gathered to bare witness to the union of this man and this, uh... robot woman. If anyone has any objections as to why these two should not be joined in holy wedlock, besides the obvious argument, then let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

As the preacher went on with his service, Brad and Jenny continued to smile at each other, waiting for their big moment. They almost didn't notice that, for the thirty seconds that followed the preacher's previous statement, nobody seemed to make any objections. Sheldon had even managed to keep quiet.

After a while of his speech, the preacher addressed the groom. "Do you, Bradley Carbunkle, take this... eh, robot to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Brad, rolling his eyes at his blushing bride.

The preacher then repeated the question to the bride. "And do you, Jennifer Wakeman, take this... human to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, so long as you both shall live... however long that is?"

"I do," said Jenny, focusing her sights on her handsome groom.

"Then will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love, now please join your hands," the preacher directed.

Still keeping their eyes on each other, Jenny and Brad turned face-to-face, with Jenny placing her white-gloved, bouquet-baring hands in Brad's.

Following that, it was time for the couple to exchange their rings. Tuck handed the rings to Brad, who then placed Jenny's wedding ring right beside her engagement ring. Jenny then did the same thing with placing the wedding band on Brad's right ring finger.

After all was said and done, the preacher made the statement that Jenny and Brad had been long anticipating ever since the proposal had been made. "Then, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you... man and mechanized wife. You may now kiss... each other."

Brad snuck his hands around his new wife's waist and pulled her in closer to him. As he did so, Jenny put her hands, her left one still holding her bouquet, on her new husband's arms. Blushing even bigger than at the start of the ceremony, they closed their eyes and puckered their lips. Finally, Brad and Jenny Carbunkle proceeded to share a few moments in their own world as they gave each other the most passionate kiss that they had ever gone through.

As the newlyweds shared their first kiss of married life, the preacher announced, smiling with relief to have gotten the seemingly unbelievable ceremony over with, "Ladies and genetlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Carbunkle." Of course, it was debatable if the congregation had actually heard him, as they were all applauding at the sight of this human-robot marriage. Even the Krust Cousins clapped their hands a little.

After what seemed like an eternity, Brad and Jenny parted lips. Smiling at their audience, they walked up the aisle. They were so blissful about the start of their marriage that they didn't even mind the press snapping photographs of them as they came out of the church and approached the waiting limousine (which had cans tied to the back bumper, obviously).

As the happy couple got into their limo and drove off to the site of the reception, Mrs. Wakeman stood at the front door of the church, watching with a tear in her eye. "I never thought I'd see this; my little girl has grown up... metaphorically, that is."

Inside their "Just Married" limousine, Jenny and Brad continually kissed each other, just as they had done at the church, except this time they were sharing shorter kisses. This way, they could be able to have more kisses than they would have they have been long ones.

"So..." Brad said, bringing a temporary pause to their backseat make-out session. "How's it feel to be Mrs. Brad Carbunkle?"

"Well, to put it truthfully..." Jenny put her left index finger up to her cheek, then put up her hands in answer. "I love it! Just like I love you."

Brad smiled, with his eyes closed. "I couldn't agree more!"

And with that, the new Mr. and Mrs. Carbunkle continued their repeated kisses as the limousine was driven onward to the reception.