EVE was alone when she woke up.
At first there was nothing but a light increase in her internal software to be heard; circuits warming up as they did a routine system check. Then her head and fins separated; the magnets in her neck and shoulders whirring to life, and finally her black screen flickered once or twice as she sleepily opened her eyes; two azure crescents. She had slept well.
She turned to the spot where her partner slept, and noticed now that it was vacant, and that she was alone. The rack where he hung up his treads for the night was also empty, and looking up past he hole she had blasted in the ceiling two weeks prior she noticed that the sky was bright.
He must have already left for work, she mused. She internally checked her security camera, which was always recording whenever she powered down. Ah, there he was – she giggled as he tried his best to keep quiet, jumping at the slightest noise. He really didn't want to wake her …
She felt similar warmth erupt behind her circuitry when she saw him stare at her, nudge her shoulder in farewell. It was the same warmth that he felt whenever he saw her; the same emotion that she had developed thanks to his efforts. She shook her head; her eyes still upturned in happy silts, and turned off her camera.
The inside of the truck came back to view. EVE moved over to check on Hal, who had woken up and was busy nibbling contently on his sponge cake, and then, smiling broadly, launched up and out through the hole in the roof, into the sky.
There was much for her to get done that day – the same responsibilities and duties that every robot now shared, all working towards the goal of restoring the planet. She did not mind; she welcomed it – after she had fulfilled her directive, which was originally to find an example of ongoing photosynthesis and return it to the Axiom, she had wondered what she would do now that her purpose had been fulfilled. The thought of having no specified directive didn't depress her at all; on the contrary: she felt giddy at the exciting notion of the unknown. To choose her own path …
And she could do exactly just that, with WALL-E. They were the only robots that went outside of their individual directives and found a new one, in each other. He was her main directive, and she his – they just had a few things on the side they had to take care of too.
They received their orders from Captain McCrea. WALL-E, having been built for Waste Allocation, had been charged with just that – with the occasional odd job here and there. EVE, on the other hand, seemed to have only odd jobs to take care of – find the closest natural water source; locate a path from the Axiom into the ruined city, which buildings might require the least amount of repair and therefore might be ready for occupation the soonest, etc. She didn't mind – each of these duties kept her day interesting, and would often bring her back in WALL-E's company, so they wouldn't have to wait until the end of the day to see one another.
Her last task had been, as previously stated, to locate habitable buildings; she still had yet to deliver her information gathered from reconnaissance to the captain. She would visit him first.
The sun was bright and warm, and she did several loops in the air high above her truck in anticipation and joy at the new day. She giggled as she imagined WALL-E flying alongside her, and recalled fondly their dance in space …
Where was WALL-E, anyway? She hovered there, a thousand feet above the ground, and turned her sights towards the city skyline. What appeared to be a number of tall, disproportioned skyscrapers were actually mountains of neatly stacked cubes of trash, built by her robot over the last seven hundred years. With her enhanced robot vision, she scanned the nearest of them, searching for any sign of movement …
There! In distance, on a slightly shorter tower (obviously one still under completion), something moved two and fro. It was too far to make out any details, but she knew it was WALL-E, and for a moment imagined to see him wave at her … but he couldn't possibly spot her from this distance. She sighed, and was suddenly seized by the temptation to fly over to him and spend a couple of minutes at his side, just admiring the view …
Why not? she wondered. She had more than enough time to visit WALL-E and begin her own duties on time … Pleased with this, she launched herself at maximum speed and sped towards the distant tower.
***
WALL-E gazed at EVE, looping in the distance. His robotic visuals weren't as sophisticated and advanced as hers, so he was only able to make out a white speck dancing among the clouds – had she remained stationary, he wouldn't have noticed. But there she was, and even miles away he thought the sun reflected off of her white frame beautifully …
She stopped in mid-air, and for a moment he lost her out of his sights. Where did she go? Ah, there she was … he waved at her, wondering if she saw him, if she was looking at him at that very moment …
EVE appeared to be moving in the opposite direction, so he sighed and spun around, refocusing his attention to his work. He grabbed the cube of trash he had carried up to the top of the tower (he had set it down as he had admired his partner's aerial acrobatics) and placed it in its row. There … he turned around, rolling along the side of the tower, back to its base –
"… WAALL-EEE …"
He paused. "Eee-vah?" he asked, spinning around to have a look –
He was knocked off of his treads and flung high into the air; not by force, but by a loving embrace coupled with neck braking speed. He barely had time to register the aqua blue eyes staring joyously into his, but instinctively reached out his arms and returned her hug.
"Eee-vah!" he chirped happily.
"Waall-ee," she sang, spinning him around. She let herself gently fall to the ground, and set him back down at the foot of his skyscraper.
They had both been very busy these last few weeks; too busy in fact to simply enjoy each others company, though it wasn't for lack of trying (they would often stay up well into the night to make up for lost time, but they were usually tired to begin with, so it didn't really seem to count). EVE pressed her head against WALL-E's visor and sent passed a spark unto him; the robot was stunned with delight, as always. EVE backed away and the two spent five minutes or so simply staring at each other, drinking in the other's company …
It had only been two weeks since they had returned to Earth, but maybe it was time for them to take a day off … the humans seemed to do it every five days or so – what did they call it? Weekends? EVE hummed, a little dejected …
"Eee-vah," WALL-E sighed consolingly. He knew what she was thinking; he understood it too. But it was all right … He reached out with his hand and the two interlocked fingers; he sighed again as EVE's eyes changed back into happy-crescents.
After another couple of minutes, WALL-E finally said "Eee-vah … dir-ec-tive?"
"Captain," EVE responded, not wanting to let go of WALL-E's shovel-hand.
"Cap-tain," WALL-E nodded. EVE didn't want to admit it, but she knew he was right: it was time for her to get going. She passed another spark to him and giggled as his solar meter spiked in response, and, calling his name out in good-bye, flew off.
She would ask the captain that day if she and WALL-E could try one of these "weekends" soon.