For all his complaining about the outdoors, Nos-4-a2 spent an awful lot of time lounging around the gardens while Two worked in them.
At first, she teased him by asking for his help, but he unfailingly responded that he'd leave the dirt and bugs to her. When she asked him why he lazed around the dirt and bugs at all, he replied that he was free to do absolutely nothing on any part of their property he desired.
It became a comfortable normalcy over the years. Whenever Two headed out with her gardening smock on the weekends, Nos was sure to follow. They didn't talk much, but not for a lack of conversation topics ‒ it was a sort of unspoken agreement. When Two gardened for gardening's sake, it was time to unwind and reflect. They kept watch on each other, though. That was usually all they needed.
Nos often read or worked during these outings, occasionally bringing nothing at all, spending hours at a time watching the clouds or the branches or the way Two worked. Two liked it best when he didn't have anything to occupy him, as he was most likely to drift into sleep mode then. She made a game out of covering him with all manner of leaves, blades of grass, and weeds until he woke up. Once, she'd even managed to craft and adorn him with seven clover flower necklaces before he came online.
Now, on this early spring morning, as Two got to work clearing the flower bed around the gazebo in preparation for her tulips, she noticed she wouldn't have a chance to try making any clover chains that day ‒ Nos hovered down the path tossing what looked like a chunk of scrap metal between his hands. He smiled as he approached, his fangs glinting silver in the dappled light as he passed under the budding branches that hung over the path. He made a beeline for the gazebo, passing through a gap in the low flagstone wall, just pausing to pet Two's head before he ducked into the shade of the structure.
The tiny building was supported by thin, sturdy columns of the same white concrete as the house, and its roof shared the same black solar tiles. Inside, a wrought iron table sat surrounded by four matching chairs. A wisteria tree behind the gazebo dripped with spectacular purple blossoms, providing the perfect shade for Nos-4-a2 to sit wherever he wanted. He settled into the seat that faced Two. Before she went back to work, she took the chance to peer at the object in his hands, but as far as she could tell, it really was just a piece of scrap metal. She shot him a questioning look, but he only shrugged.
Two shook her head. If he wanted to play with a piece of trash, she wasn't going to stop him.
Nos watched her over his hands as she bent down as low as she could, a somewhat comical position for her stiff, streamlined body, but a natural one nonetheless. Her white frame bobbed almost imperceptibly as her thrusters made minute corrections against gravity, her arms moving completely independent from her body, giving her a weightless look. He indulged in feeling the shift in her electrical signature, marveling as always at the way it changed as she focused. All interference from different activities in her processors melted away, leaving a steady wavelength that steeped his mind in comfort. Coupled with the breeze, still nippy coming out of winter, it was the perfect working environment.
He made sure Two was completely invested in her work before he rolled the scrap of metal into his left palm, appraising the shapeless lump with his thumb. His optics dimmed. Somewhere in a distant area of the gardens, windchimes rang with low, sonorous tones. He squinted. I wonder if I still remember.
It was only when he was certain that Two had lost all awareness of her surroundings that he began to heat the chunk of metal with a concentrated beam of energy from his tallon. He got it glowing red hot before starting to kneed it in his fingers, evenly rolling it until it took a smooth shape. He couldn't remember the last time he'd tried sculpting, but it came as easily as if he had been practicing every day. The Energy Vampire found himself smirking, quite pleased with his abilities.
But what to mold? It had only occurred to him in passing to grab an extra scrap of metal from his workbench, just a small something to keep himself occupied so Two didn't have another chance to prank him. His optics flicked up to make sure she was still occupied as, unconsciously, he began to define the contours of the piece of metal. Two moved with such fluidity, it was like a dance, even as her hands and arms became coated in mulch.
Suddenly, Nos realized that the metal in his hands started to take the shape of an elongated, upside-down egg. He raised his eyebrow, turning it over in his hand and looking back and forth between it and his wife.
Well... it was worth a shot.
Nos funneled all his attention into perfecting the shape of an EVE Probe. It was surprisingly difficult, as her form was so simple that the slightest imperfection stood out like a sore thumb, and it was a long time before he was happy enough with it to start working in details. He blew on it to make sure it was cool enough to keep its shape before slowly, carefully using the tip of his talon to carve lines around the base of her head, her arms, her visor, and the design on her chest. Wait... no, it needed to be symmetrical. How was he supposed to redo it? If he reheated it, he might end up warping the whole shape. Maybe he could make the line thicker and just sort of...? No, that was even worse. He held the piece only inches away from his optic, his tongue between his fangs while he tried to fix his mistake.
He was so absorbed that he didn't even notice Two, who had straightened up and was now leaning over the railing.
"What are you doing?"
Nos jumped in his seat, fumbling the sculpture before clasping it between his palms. "Nothing!"
Two cocked her eyeform. "That's definitely not nothing."
"No, really, it's just garbage."
"Nos, come on!" she reached toward him, but he ducked away from her soil-flecked fingers, holding his clasped hands at a distance.
Nos gave her a defiant, stubborn glare, trying to convey an air of finality. Two narrowed her eyeforms in response.
In a moment, there was a flurry of motion as Two launched herself over the railing and into the gazebo toward Nos, who narrowly darted out of her reach and into the open.
"Seriously, little one, it's none of your concern."
"Oh, it became my concern the moment you flinched! What are you hiding from me?" Two sneered, a keen, probing interest in her voice.
Nos drew his mouth into a withholding line, clutching the trinket in his left hand and holding it behind his back.
"Alright, if that's the way you want to be."
The Energy Vampire barely managed to dodge as Two shot forward again. His wings sprung out of his back and made a few frantic flaps away from her, but she stayed close, lunging for his arms. Nos took off in hopes of avoiding her, the gardens shrinking beneath them.
"Eve, just drop it!"
"No way!" she shrieked with glee, driving him even higher.
He swerved, trying to outmaneuver her. "It doesn't matter!"
"Then why are you making me chase you?" she laughed.
He hardly managed to switch hands as she swooped to his left side, narrowly avoiding his wing while she grasped at his wrist. He dropped like a stone to slip her hold. "Because you're insufferably nosy!"
"Come on, I'd show you!"
"You don't even know what it is!"
"I would if you'd just let me see it!"
Nos-4-a2 pushed his wings as hard as he could, swerving and pitching to throw her off, baffled by how agile she flew even while wearing an apron full of gardening tools. He couldn't hope to out speed her, and if she managed to latch on, he wouldn't be any match for her strength. His only chance would be to take her by surprise. Going with his first impulse, he halted on a dime and wound his arm back to throw the little charm as hard as he could into the grass fields beyond their garden wall. He regretted it as soon as he noticed the way her eyeforms locked onto his fist. Suddenly, they were both diving after the glimmering speck of metal, racing gravity, scrambling for possession of the tiny object.
Nos was sure he had recovered, but as soon as he began to grab it, Two streaked past and his hand closed on thin air.
The little probe gave a triumphant cry, thrusting her fist with the trinket above her head. Nos groaned and sunk back to ground level, finding himself quite far from the gazebo, now in a portion of the gardens filled with rose bushes and a small fountain. He scowled at her form high above him, now stationary, scrutinizing the charm in her hands.
"Nos," she called down after a moment, "did you make this?"
"I told you, it's trash."
"No," Two hovered down to his height, not taking her eyeforms off the sculpture. "Is it supposed to be me?"
"I hadn't finished, I was going to toss it anyway ‒ "
"Oh, but Nos, you can't!" she grasped it protectively, looking up at him. "Seriously... I had no idea you knew how to do stuff like this. It's... it's incredible!"
"...You think so?"
"Why are you saying that like it's so unbelievable? Of course! This is amazing, it looks just like me! Why didn't you want me to see? You're a real artist," Two beamed.
Nos felt a surge of energy work through his circuits. "Anyone could do that if they had the time. I wanted to refine my skills a bit before I showed you anything."
"Well, I can't imagine you need much improvement! It looks like it was 3D printed. Will you please finish this for me?" she offered the trinket back to him.
"Really?"
"I won't make you if you don't want to ‒ I'd just keep it the way it is now, but you said you weren't done, and you looked really focused before I interrupted you."
Nos sneered and took it back. "Maybe you should have thought about that before you interrupted me, then I would have finished and shown you without any fuss."
"Where's the fun in that?" she laughed. He motioned as if to roll his optic. "So you'll finish it?"
"I might as well if you're really such a big fan of my work," he sighed, beginning to stroll back in the direction of the gazebo.
"Ooooh, I can't wait to show it to everyone I know!"
Nos halted. "Now, hold on a minute."
"One will be so surprised she might want one for herself! Do you think you could make Wall.E? Have you ever tried sculpting yourself? How cute would it be to have a matching pair? Oh, I'll keep it in my work apron all the time, Jenny is going to love it!"
"Now that you put it like that, I might change my mind."
For those of you in the audience who haven't watched BLoSC, we see Nos's artistic capabilities in "Revenge of the Monsters" when he absentmindedly molds a perfect figure of Zurg while having a conversation with XL. If you want links to the episodes, you can find them on kisscartoon or ask me for a link!
Fun fact: Nos-4-a2 made their wedding bands and even shaped them to their fingers, so Two knew he was capable of sculpting before this. She just wasn't aware of his full range of abilities.
I was tempted to start this over and write a scene where Nos wakes up while Two puts a clover necklace over his head, and he just stares at her kind of blank and confused, still waking up, and she thinks it's so endearing and soft and lovely that she can't help pressing a little spark against his lips.
I did so much research for this story? Mostly about tulips? I now have the knowledge to potentially tend my own perennial tulip garden.