Galactic Ranger Intelligence Center

(AKA The Broom Closet)

Inside the small and cramped, broom and crate filled room known as the Galactic Ranger Intelligence Center, two of the smartest people in the Solana Galaxy worked. Elaris and Clank were no doubt very intelligent, or as the Rangers would call them, 'total nerds'. They handled battle strategies, weapons, and tactical support whenever the Rangers were on missions. However, even though they provided help, the two weren't the most respected people. In fact, Elaris and Clank were the least popular Rangers. And that wasn't just an opinion of the public, it was an opinion of the Rangers themselves. The two would constantly be pushed out of plans because Qwark and the others didn't want to be bored to death by their 'nerdy pie charts'. This caused constant frustration within the two. However, there was still one thing that kept them sane throughout the other's constant torment. Elaris and Clank couldn't be nerdy around the Rangers, but they could be nerdy around each other.

Ever since Qwark assigned Clank to be Elaris's assistant, the two had formed quite a bond. Mostly because they both finally had someone that didn't mind it when they were themselves whenever they were around. The two would stay in the center for hours, discussing battle strategies, new weapon components, and basically anything that involved science and technology. Elaris was so happy to have someone who actually wanted to listen to what she had to say, unlike the rest of the Rangers. And Clank was happy to have someone find his what Ratchet called 'nerd talk' interesting. Their bond over science and technology was so strong, that the two couldn't help but be sad when Ratchet came and told Clank that they were going home. Elaris and Clank were, quoted by Captain Qwark, "the two biggest nerds in the universe", and they could be happier to have each other to share the title.

Today, the two biggest nerds in the universe were spending their time doing their normal duties: paperwork and stacking whatever got knocked over by the other Rangers. Clank was sitting at Elaris's control system doing paperwork from the latest missions they went on. Several machines had been destroyed by gunfire and lots of buildings were damaged, and the owners weren't too happy with that. The robot huffed to himself as his big green eyes reflected the white and electric blue of the the monitor. The Rangers were the ones who went out and destroyed stuff, why did he and Elaris have to do the paperwork for it? He guessed that they wouldn't know what to do with it because they never listened to Elaris talk about the paperwork. So he guessed that he would have to deal with this, and his metal fingers tapped on the keyboard swiftly.

Meanwhile, behind him, Elaris was stacking several crates that had been knocked over by Captain Qwark. The captain had flown in with a jetpack and, once he realized that he was in the wrong room, he flew out, taking the crate stack out on his way. It had left a fairly big mess that Elaris really didn't want to clean up because it was the captain who had made the mess and not her, but she knew that the chances of Qwark cleaning up after himself was very, very small. So she left the paperwork to Clank and began stacking the crates.

She let out a big breath as she heaved another one on top of the stack, "Hoo, it's times like these when I wish that I had a jetpack. It would probably make this job a lot easier."

Clank quickly turned around and tilted his head a bit, "Do you require assistance, Elaris?"

"Assistance? No no no, I'll be fine. I've done this plenty of times before, so I'm used to it. Besides, I'm almost done. Just a few...more..." Elaris grabbed the last two crates and, with all of her might, shoved the boxes onto the stack, completing it. She raised her hands a bit and backed up towards Clank. When the crates didn't fall, she placed a hand on her waist and nodded, "There, it's like it never happened. Not bad for one of the biggest nerds in the universe-"

Elaris and Clank both jumped as the door to the broom closet...er, office...whooshed open. Clank got down from the chair and took a few steps forward so he could see who it was, and whether or not they were playing a prank on them. Suddenly, Elaris's hands grasped both of his shoulders and he was lifted into the air as a Spiral of Death came rolling on. She then jumped up onto the chair and they both watched the blades go around the room. Ratchet then came running in with the Spiral of Death's launcher. He chased after it.

"Sorry to intrude! We've got a runaway Spiral of Death here!" The Lombax said as the blade continued to roll away from him. It took a sharp turn and went between Ratchet's legs, then it began to head towards the door. "Hey! Come back here! I need you for target practice!"

The Spiral of Death went out of the room, but not before it sliced through the bottom crate that held up the stack that Elaris just made. She cried out, "No no no no no!" Too late. The stack fell and crates went everywhere. Elaris's shoulders dropped and she sighed. A sheepishly look came onto Ratchet's face.

"Sorry bout that. I gotta get that Spiral back before it slices anything else." The Lombax ran out the door, leaving the two alone again. But he poked his head back in, "Oh, and Qwark wants you to restock the weapon rack. He didn't say when, but knowing Qwark, the sooner the better."

Elaris and Clank watched Ratchet leave. Elaris sighed, Clank still in her hands, "Well, looks like I'm back to square one...again."

Clank looked at the mess. He was disappointed in Ratchet because, like the other Rangers, he had made a mess and didn't stay to clean it up. He felt bad for Elaris because she had just got done cleaning, and now her office was littered with crates again. The small robot looked up at her exhausted face, "Hmm...it appears that you are. But, I am willing to put the paperwork aside for now and help you. The same goes for restocking the weapon rack."

"Aww, thank you, Clank, you are the sweetest robot ever!" Elaris said happily, hugging the robot.

Clank giggled as he blushed, "Hehehehe! I am happy to be of assistance."

"Heheh. Come on, let's go start with the weapons. The captain probably wants that done soon, so we'll just get it out of the way."

"Agreed," the warbot said with a nod.

Elaris jumped off of the chair and put Clank back down on the ground. The robot followed her out of the room. On his way out of the office, he passed by a metal crate that showed him his reflection. Clank paused for a second so he could take a look at himself. His face was still red from when Elaris hugged him. He rubbed his face a bit and then waited for the blushing to stop. But it didn't; it refused to go away. Clank resorted to lightly slapping himself on the face with both of his hands, occasionally shaking his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still blushing. The warbot's shoulders dropped. It looked like that he was going to have to deal with this...and he would have to try to hide it from Elaris. He didn't want to be embarrassed in front of her.

The two entered the weapon stock room, which was illuminating with white and blue light. Most of the weapon rack was unoccupied, and a variety of weapons laid either in a crate or on the floor. Elaris breathed in as she saw a large Warmonger sitting a few feet away. "Well, looks like we're really gonna be getting a workout today, huh?"

"Indeed," Clank said, also looking at the heavy weapons. "But I am sure that we will be able to do this together."

Elaris looked down at the robot and smiled, "That's the spirit. I'm going to take care of that Warmonger first."

Clank watched Elaris walk across the room and grab the large Warmonger. She got down on her knees and tried to pull it up onto her shoulder, but it was much heavier than she had expected (and that was really saying something). Clank noticed how much she was struggling, and he rushed over to her. He pushed as she pulled, helping Elaris get the Warmonger onto her shoulder so it would be easier to carry. Elaris stood up, nearly losing balance, but she managed to walk it over to the rack and put it on, letting out a relieving breath, "Hoo...how on Kerwan does Cora and Ratchet carry that thing around? Anyway, thanks so much for the help, Clank."

"It was no problem," Clank said, readjusting his shoulder. "I suppose that I should start moving weapons now."

"I think I saw a Negotiator behind the crate. B-But be careful, alright? Negotiators can be kind of touchy."

"Do not worry, I will be careful."

Clank walked over to the other side of the crate and located the yellow and black gun, which was loaded with two missiles. He lifted the gun up and balanced it on his shoulder bolt, then he walked over to the weapon rack. Elaris looked down at him, making sure that he was being careful with the weapon. However, something else caught her attention. "Clank, why is your face so red?"

"Huh? M-M-My face is what?" Clank said innocently, looking up at her. "Red? Hehehe, do not be ridiculous! M-My face...my face is not...heheh...red-!"

As Clank stepped toward the weapon rack, his foot hit the ledge that led up to it, and the surprise of nearly tripping caused his finger to slip and pull the Negotiator's trigger. One missile shot out of the gun and exploded, and the force of it all made Clank go flying backwards, hitting the wall on the other side of the room. The robot groaned as gravity peeled him off of the wall and sent him face first into the floor. Elaris gasped and ran over to him, quickly getting onto her knees and trying to at least get him onto his knees.

"Clank! My god, are you alright?" She asked worryingly. Clank coughed and looked up at her, a broken and unlit eye was part of his gaze. Before he could say anything, Elaris placed a hand on both side of his head and observed the damage. "Oh my god, your eye-and there's dents in your-and your shoulder sprocket is-aw, you poor little guy. It doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No," Clank answered. He was lying, he was in a lot of pain. And Elaris could see right through his little fib, and she showed that by wagging a finger at him.

"Now don't you lie to me. You know better, Clank." The small robot lowered his head in disappointment of himself. But Elaris brought it back up so she could look at his eye again. She then scooped him up, "Come on, I can fix you in my office." Clank felt his face grow warm as Elaris cradled him in her arms. The red in his face increased another shade. Elaris had never held him like this before. Mostly she would just hold him in her hands, and it was only to help him reach something or to set him on a higher platform. But this was certainly different. It was different and...nice. Clank didn't say it out loud, but he liked being held like this, he liked being held like this by Elaris. Speaking of which, Elaris spoke up as they arrived at the office, "Well, I guess I shouldn't be calling this my office. I should be calling it our office. Since, you know, we both work in here, heheh. Alright, little guy, sit here while I get some tools, alright?"

Elaris placed Clank on a stool that she pulled out of the supplies (the broom closet was small, but it did offer a lot of resources). She then dug through more supplies and pulled out a wrench, a screwdriver, and a glass eyepiece that she hoped was the right size for Clank. Secretly, she was also hoping that she could repair Clank. It had been awhile since she had repaired...well...anything. But she had to dig through her memories and pull out all that she could remember about making repairs for the sake of her assistant.

Before she started, Elaris placed a hand on the side of Clank's head, "If this hurts, even in the slightest bit, I want you to tell me, alright?"

"I will," Clank said with a nod, his broken eyes sparking.

"Ah, let's take care of that eye first." Elaris went to work on Clank. She rearranged wires in his eye, hoping that she could give him a clearer and sharper picture. The warbot yelped as a large spark came from his open eyesocket, and Elaris apologized to him about five times, though the warbot said that it was alright after the first apology. Trying to be a lot more careful, Elaris connected the right wires and tried to keep the amount of sparks to a minimum.

When all of that was complete, she inserted the eyepiece, hoping that it would fit, which it did. She told Clank to try out the new eye. The robot reactivated his eye, bringing a brilliant green light to it, and he blinked a few times. Clank nodded, "My vision is fully functional with a clear and sharp picture."

"Whoo, that's awesome. I was worried that I was going to mess that up, it's been awhile since I've worked on an eye." Clank stared up at Elaris with his big green eyes, waiting for her to say or do something else. However, when he looked up at her, she just stared back. Her mouth kept switching between a big and small smile. It stayed like this for a few moments, the cute eyelock between them never breaking, until Clank asked.

"May I ask why you are staring at me?"

"I-I'm sorry, I know it's weird that I'm staring at you, but...look, I've been wanting to say this ever since I've met you, but you are just the cutest thing!" Elaris said happily. Clank's new eyes went a bit wide and his face just kept up the red shade. Then he giggled at the comment. Elaris smiled and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I thought that you would have taken offense to that."

"No, I do not mind being called cute, as long as it is coming from a close friend. Besides, I cannot deny the truth, hehehehehe!" Clank giggled and waved his little feet in a cute way.

Elaris couldn't help herself as she nuzzled Clank's antenna with her hand and hugged him a bit, "Okay, now you're just being cute on purpose!" The two laughed together for a bit before settling back down. Elaris then snapped back into focus, "Alright, now let's get this shoulder fixed." She grabbed the screwdriver and placed it in Clank's shoulder bolt and began twisting it. As she worked on him, she talked, "So, after this, I want you to just hang in here alright. Sit in the chair and relax. I'll try to get Brax to help me with the weapons and the crates."

Clank shook his head, "I do not want to stay in here, I want to keep helping you."

"No, Clank, you need to rest. You were just sent into a wall by a Negotiator, you need to take it easy."

The warbot shook his head again, "But I want to keep helping you. I like helping you with your tasks. Besides, I am your assistant, it is my job to help you."

"Wait...you like helping me with my tasks?" Elaris asked, looking into Clank's big green eyes. The bolt in his shoulder clicked, and she put the screwdriver down. But she kept her place.

"Of course I do. And it is not just tasks, I like working with you in general," Clank said, the red in his face getting more and more intense. The words coming out of his mouth seemed beyond his control. "I like spending time with you, and I like being your assistant. I like...I like you, Elaris. That is why I will keep helping you with your tasks today. I do not want a broken eye and shoulder to stand in the way of spending time with you."

Elaris had a look of disbelief on her face for a few moments, but it soon turned into a simple smile. She grabbed both side of Clank's head and kissed him on the head, making the robot smile. She smiled back at him, "Heh...I like you too, Clank. You are the cutest, most sweetest assistant that I could ever ask for." She nodded her head towards the exit, "Come on, let's go finish putting away those weapons...together."

"That is the spirit," Clank said with a chuckle.

Elaris picked the small robot up and placed him gently on the ground. However, his legs were not fully functional due to the Negotiator accident, so he was having a bit of difficulty keeping his balance. Noticing this, Elaris scooped him back up and cradled him in her arms again. She placed her forehead on his, and they smiled at each other. These two were the biggest nerds in the universe, and there was no one else that they wanted to share this title with more than with each other.

...First ClankxElaris fanfiction! (I think)

So, I bet that some of you are a bit...confused right now about why I posted this. It's simple really, and I've prepared a speech about why this fanfic exists. Let me just get my notes here, and we'll begin...ahem...

I. SHIP. IT.

Yes, that's right, I ship Clank and Elaris. Why? Because I read the movie novel, and I noticed that Clank and Elaris really a...a...a thing going on there. And I decided to expand on that. So yes, I ship Clank and Elaris. I ship it as much as I ship Clank and Circuit...maybe even more...don't kill me for saying that.

REMINDER: I'm now doing Fanfiction Commissions on Deviantart! Want another ClankxElaris fanfic but you want it to go differently? Come on down to my Deviantart profile page and look at my Fanfiction Commission Journal and you might just get that fic. My Deviantart profile page URL can be found on my Fanfiction profile.

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This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!