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Geo had always been able to see the shapes in everything. The squares, the triangles, the circles, right down to the diamonds and 3D shapes. If it exists, he can likely break it down into shapes. The only thing he can't? The concept of family.
It sounds odd. Yet its the only concept geo doesn't actually associate with any shape. For example, friendship is a lightning bolt. Bright, natural. Yet family? He wasn't so sure. He'd seen all sorts of different families. Some people have two mom's, others two dads...some only one parent, and in his and Millis case - a robotic guardian. Point being, no two families are the same. There's no consistency.
...and Geo likes consistency.
He'd spent that day sitting around between the usual missions, either staring up at the ceiling or down at his shapebelt like the shape he's looking for would simply materialise, that he'd have an epiphany and finally understand it. Thats what epiphany means, right? Bot used that word once - it seemed fitting. His geometric trance was broken by a weight shifting the couch beside him.
"Hey Geo!" Milli chirped, having plonked herself down beside her brother "you alright? You've been in geo-land all day!" Her cheerful tone had an inkling of concern within it. Geo looked over "...I'm fine." He responded, giving his sister a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "...hey, Mils? You associate stuff with patterns, right? What do you think when you hear the word family?"
"Hmm.." The young girl leaned back contemplatively "in my head, Family is a pattern thats always changing! Like it's Zigzags one second, circles the next.."
"But...but a pattern is supposed to be the same over and over, right? Like how a shape is supposed to have an exact amount of sides and corners.." Geo did hand gestures tracing the shape of a square. Milli shrugged "not exactly! A rhombus is just a tilted square, y'know?"
"That doesn't make sense!" Her brother huffed, rubbing up an down his arm "It supposed to be just one thing! I should be able to figure it out! I...I should-!"
"Geo! Geo!" Milli reached out, hands hovering over Geos shoulders but pausing "Calm down! It's really not that big a deal!"
"But I should be able to!" Geos voice was a high pitched whine that seemed to catch Bots attention from the other room. He waddled in, expecting to see the two arguing, though was pleasantly surprised it was just a slightly intense conversation. He sat down between them "whats the matter here?!"
"What shape is family?!" Geo blurted, grabbing Bots arm tight. Bot didn't push him away, instead he guided Geos hand into his "I think...family is a collection of gears. And every family's gears are different...with different colours and teeth-"
"WHY can't anyone give me a straight answer?!"
"Because.." Bot used his free hand to tilt Geos chin upwards to make eye contact "Family isn't a straight thing, Geo...every family is unique. Some families are spiky, others round..." he hummed "what matters is what yours looks like."
Bot knew full well the importance of this sort of thing to Geo. Milli leaned into Bots side, a little less understanding, though still kind "yeah! Ours is like- whoosh! And it's super, and it's extendo-y, and it's mighty!"
"Extendo-y isn't a word..?"
"It is now, Geo!"
Geo, reluctantly, settled against Bot, his head resting on the robots chest..or where it would be. "...but...it should be one thing..."
"I know, Geo.." Bot gently rubbed across geos side, mindful not to cause anymore overwhelm "but some things are lots of things. Like...how Milli is a mighty math hero...but she's got two things she can do."
"Uh-huh. The more things something has, the cooler it is!" Milli chirped. Geo remained quiet, taking in their words. He found comfort in Bots gentle rubbing, and found Millis boundless enthusiasm a breath of fresh air...metaphorically. a soft sigh escaped him. He curled up a little tighter, to which bot pulled him onto one leg. Milli climbed onto the other, giving her sibling a big but gentle hug "you know what's really cool about family, Geo?"
"Hm?"
"They always love eachother so, so, so, so, so much!" She quipped, giving him another soft squeeze. Geo couldn't hold back a giggle "You're so cheesy, sis..."
"She's right." Bot smiled "one thing you can count on is your family loving you...just like how we love you so, so much!" He gave the two kids a warm squeeze "and when things don't make sense, we're here to make you feel better."
"Yeah!" Milli chirped, a hand still steadfast on geos shoulder "I may not entirely understand what happens in that head of yours, but I'm always gonna try and make you feel happy!" She truly adored her twin brother. That made Geo happy. The shape experts eyes flickered between them. Bot, the steadfast and loving guardian, and Milli, his silly, happy, yet powerful and intelligent sister. Suddenly it clicked.
"..I know.." Geo murmured, a bit breathless as if awed by his own realisation. Milli and Bot both leaned a little closer, excited to hear what he figured out. Geo pulled a...weird looking shape from his shapebelt. Bot and Milli hadn't quite seen anything like it. With uneven sides, a number of corners that didn't seem real, a weird squished form and a perfect heart cut out of the centre. Millis head tilted "what...is it?"
"It's family." Geo said simply "...youre right. Family isnt perfect. It can be anything." The shape was malleable in geos hands, able to change form to match whatever family it was for. "It's uneven, a little ugly...but...the one thing that stays...is that." He pointed to the carved loveheart in the middle "and ours?" He pulled and squished parts of the shape until it was a wonky love heart surrounding the cut out. Bot gingerly took the shape. "...its perfectly imperfect, Geo."
Millis eyes were watering "you figured it out!" She squealed "see?! I told you that you could! You're my smartest brother ever!" She threw herself onto geo.
"I'm your only brother." Geo reminded, awkwardly patting millis back, to which she gently poked his chest "I wouldn't want any other!"
Bot chuckled at the two kids antics, his arm stretching to set the shape on a shelf. "There. So we can always remember it." He said fondly, pulling the two closer, one hand patting geos helmet while the other smoothed out one of Millis pigtails.
He hummed softly "...yeah. that's about right. Good job, Geo.."
That made the young boys heart swell.