Chapter 9
As Noodle unwrapped the towel from around Cyborg's head, the robot furrowed her brow.
"Like it?" Noodle asked.
Cyborg stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, inspecting the streak of white in her hair. "I guess. I don't hate it," she said.
"It suits you," Noodle smiled.
"And black suits you," Cyborg returned the grin.
Noodle ran her hand through her jet black hair, "More than purple?"
"Maybe a little."
"I think so too," Noodle agreed, "Anyways, I have a surprise for you."
"You do? Another one? I think I'm all surprised-out."
"It's a fun surprise," Noodle added, "We're gonna go somewhere cool."
"Where?"
"That's the surprise."
"Oh, okay," Cyborg scratched her head.
"Follow me."
"Look what I found."
Cyborg looked up from her boots' laces. "Keys?"
"Keys to the Stylo," Noodle added.
"You know how to drive?" Cyborg smirked.
"I'm sure it's not that hard. Kidding - I can drive."
"Okay good," Cyborg finished tying her laces.
Noodle pushed open the front door, spinning the keys around her finger. She closed it behind Cyborg as she stepped outside. "It's getting cold out here," Noodle remarked, "Might have to start wearing coats when we go out."
"I won't," Cyborg said.
"Oh yeah. Lucky you," Noodle chuckled. She unlocked the Stylo, then slid into the driver's seat. Cyborg ducked into the backseat. "You can sit up front," Noodle called.
"I can? Thanks," Cyborg beamed, climbing over the gear stick to sit beside Noodle. Noodle twisted the key and the Stylo roared to life. The bullet-riddled car began out of the drive, then crawled down the road.
"How about some music?" Noodle said as the Stylo reached a main road and sped up.
Cyborg hummed, then peered into the glove box and began rummaging around. "Gorillaz, Plastic Beach, The Fall," Cyborg listed the albums as she sorted through them, "Murdoc is very narcissistic, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he is. Does he have Demon Dayz?" Noodle asked.
"No, I don't think so. Oh, hang on... there it is," Cyborg reached deeper into the glove box and retrieved the album. Opening it, she frowned.
"What?"
"Disc's gone," Cyborg showed her the album, "And he has a... bag of broccoli in here instead."
"Maybe you should put that back," Noodle suggested.
"Okay," Cyborg returned the album to the glovebox, before going back to her search, "Maybe we could put on Plastic Beach? I like that one."
Noodle hummed, "Does he have anything else?"
"No," Cyborg decided after a few more seconds of searching. She grabbed Plastic Beach and closed the glovebox. Then, with a huge grin, she stuffed the CD into the player.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"Almost."
"Are we there yet?"
"Yep."
"Cool! 'Gravity Zone'." Cyborg read the sign on the building that Noodle had parked beside, "Is this a zero-gravity place where you can float around and stuff?"
"Close," Noodle climbed out of the car, "You'll see."
Cyborg had waited on a nearby bench while Noodle stood in line. The human guitarist had returned with two wristbands, one of which she wrapped around Cyborg's hand and the other she kept for herself.
After that, Cyborg had followed Noodle through a set of double doors.
"Woah," the robot marvelled. She found herself in a jungle gym of sorts, with countless trampolines all over the place.
"This is basically the same as it used to be," Noodle remarked.
"Let's go!" Cyborg called, taking Noodle's hand and running towards the nearest set of trampolines. She jumped on one, then stood completely still, "When do I go up?"
"You have to keep jumping," Noodle explained.
"Oh," Cyborg said. She began to jump again, her motions quickly turning into stomps, sending her soaring into the air.
"You got it!" Noodle giggled.
"You were right, this is fun!" Cyborg beamed. When she noticed that Noodle's eyes were focused on something behind her, she turned her head to see a small pit filled with foam cubes.
Before Cyborg could look back, Noodle jumped at her, tackling her. She yelled in shock, then gasped as she hit the foam shapes, tightly closing her eyes.
When she heard laughter, she cracked open her eyelids. Noodle was positioned over her, cackling almost like Murdoc.
"Got you," Noodle said once her laughing fit had ended.
"Y-Yeah," Cyborg gulped. She felt herself flare up. Noodle moved to stand, but Cyborg reached up and threaded her fingers into the messy black hair on the back of Noodle's head. Without thinking, she pulled Noodle's head down and kissed her.
"Wow," Noodle gasped once they'd parted, their faces inches apart.
"Can we do tha--"
"You don't have to keep asking," Noodle said.
"Oh, good," Cyborg grinned. Before she could kiss Noodle again, Noodle stopped her.
"Actually, hang on," Noodle interrupted her. She quickly sat up and glanced around. Good, nobody was there. Then, she jumped up to her feet, "There's something I want to show you."
Noodle ran her hand along the spongy panels that covered the wall. She hummed, then dug her fingers into a small crack between two panels and pulled the panel back, revealing a small crawl space. "Through here," she whispered.
Noodle went first, quickly vaulting through the hole. Cyborg followed, a little more hesitantly.
"I used to come here all the time back when we were recording the first Gorillaz album," Noodle explained, "Sometimes 2-D or Russel would come with me, but for the most part, it was just me. I found this little... hidey-hole and just sort of hung out here," Noodle recounted.
"Cool," Cyborg said, "I can't see anything."
"I used to bring a small lamp, but I forgot."
"I think I can--" Cyborg began to blink rapidly until her green eyes lit up and a beam of lime-coloured light bathed the small room, "There we go."
"Thanks," Noodle smirked, "Now, where were we?"
Cyborg's chest tingled as Noodle slid the panel back into place. The robot sat up against the wall of the room and Noodle shifted over towards her, then gently brushed her fringe into curtains.
"That white streak does look good," Noodle grinned.
"Thank you," Cyborg's cheeks lit up in a brown blush, "This was a very good surprise."
"I know. Not bad for a first date," Noodle remarked.
"Date? This is a date?"
"Mm-hmm," Noodle hummed, before she brushed her lips against Cyborg's, then went in for a longer kiss.
This time, Noodle began to push her tongue against Cyborg's closed mouth. Somewhat confused, Cyborg opened her eyes and gave Noodle an unsure glance.
When Noodle met her eyes with her own, Cyborg opened her mouth. Noodle hummed against Cyborg's lips, closed her eyes, then glided her tongue across Cyborg's. Taking the hint, Cyborg began to move her tongue to Noodle's rhythm.
When they parted again, Cyborg let out a slight whimper of disappointment at the sudden loss of contact. Then, she felt her core start to heat up when, in the otherwise silence of the small space, she heard the quiet pants from Noodle as she caught her breath.
"You look like you're burning up. Do you want to stop?" Noodle asked.
"No," Cyborg replied, "I don't."
"But what if you overheat again?"
"I won't," Cyborg said adamantly.
"If you're sure."
Noodle pressed her lips against Cyborg's again, and then their tongues slid together once more. Cyborg likened it to a jigsaw puzzle, but then she realised that she had never played a jigsaw puzzle.
Cyborg hugged Noodle's torso and curled her fingers into the fabric of her shirt, while Noodle rested her hands on Cyborg's shoulders. Noodle cracked her eyes open as Cyborg began pulling on her shirt, as if unconsciously trying to tear it off.
Before Cyborg could rip the fabric, Noodle pulled away, then she leaned back in. This time, her face glided down to Cyborg's neck. She peppered kisses along the robot's skin leading up to her jawline, where skipped over to her cheek, where she pressed her lips.
"I love you," Cyborg decided.
"Yeah, I love you too," Noodle beamed.
"Maybe we should... go back to the trampolines. They are what we came for," Noodle suggested.
"If you want to," Cyborg's face fell.
"Hey, a dark cupboard behind the walls of an old trampoline park isn't exactly the best place to make out. I have somewhere else in mind," Noodle added.
"Another surprise?" Cyborg's smile returned, "I am started to enjoy them now."