Telly was a little nervous watching them go. Would Chibi-Robo be fine by himself with Leah? Without him? But more importantly, how would he talk to Rose?
Telly wasn't sure what to say at first, and so he kind of just sat in uncomfortable silence with Rose. Finally, she said, "Wanna see my rose garden?"
Telly was relieved for the ice breaker, "Yes please!"
Rose relaxed, "Follow me."
Telly followed after her, watching as the dust curved around her body, as her arms cut through the air. Telly found himself being unable to focus on much else. He'd never seen such a beautiful robot. The shine off her white body glowed mystically, and her hot pink eyes made him feel a certain fondness.
"Right here." Rose lowered into a gorgeous haven of red rose bushes. She took one of the blossoms in her hands, "Oh. You're looking much healthier now."
"They're lovely." Telly said, hovering closer to the blooming flowers.
"I know." Rose let her fingers glaze over a few more roses, rustling the leaves a little bit, "They're my little lovelies." she giggled.
Telly hovered around more of the roses, "How often do you tend to this garden?"
"Um...pretty much all day every day..."
"What? Don't you get lonely?"
"Well, no..." Rose moved on to more roses, just checking on them, "I have my roses, and Leah likes to visit. I sing to them, and I bring humans here sometimes because the air is good for them..."
Telly's heart reached out to her, "You're lonely here, aren't you?"
Rose dropped her head, "I'm so shy! I don't like talking to people because it just makes me freeze! I was built for finding plantlife, not making conversation!" Rose shook her head slowly, "No...no, I like keeping to myself."
Telly looked at the roses again, humming Teriyaki Blues to himself. When Rose moved on to another bush, Telly followed and hovered in front of her, where she could see him, "Would you like me to spend time here with you?"
Rose frowned her sad frown, "You would do that?"
Telly saluted, "I wouldn't mind spending a few hours here with you! I should get back to Chibi-Robo soon, but I'll give you someone to talk to for awhile!"
Rose smiled, "You're quite the chatterbox, aren't you?"
Telly frowned, "I'm sorry, should I stop?"
"Oh no! That's not what I meant!" Rose laughed, really laughed, "I like it."
"You do?"
"Yes. Keep talking. Talk about whatever you want, I don't care."
"Oh! You don't want to give me permission to talk..."
"No, I'm serious. If I get annoyed, I'll tell you to stop."
Telly looked at her incredulously, "But you're so shy..."
"Hey, I can be aggressive if I want to be." and though it was true, it still felt like a lie, "Just talk. I'm curious about you anyway."
"Okay, but once I'm done, I'm going to ask you about yourself, so be prepared!"
She laughed again, it felt great, "Alright. I'm not much of a talker, but go ahead."
Leah stopped near a grassy field. The rain clouds had cleared out and the setting sun was casting beams of light over the landscape. It was quite a sight to behold.
She set Chibi down on a crate and then set herself on the ground next to it, leaning her side into the wooden box, "It's so nice out here. I like to relax in this place when the day is over. My back always gives me trouble for some reason." a soft sparking sound was heard in Leah's system and she winced, "Ugh..."
Chibi-Robo sat down and looked over the area. He was beginning to get used to the new world around him, but he still longed for the days when grass covered all the dirt and flowers grew everywhere. The sky was no longer blue, the clouds no longer white. It was all brown.
He ached inside.
"I wish I could grow things..." Leah continued, "I'm the only one out of my four sisters that can't garden. I'm just not patient enough to focus on it."
Chibi continued to listen. He was intrigued.
"I don't know. Plants just can't hold my attention anymore." she popped her back again, "I have no idea why." Leah slid until she was lying down, "Rose can sing, Aya has good people skills, Rio can fight really well, Eve is intelligent and observant, and all of them can garden."
Chibi felt his ache grow stronger;
"I'm just not special..."
Chibi was quick to grab her attention.
"Huh? What is it?" Leah asked.
Chibi made sure she was watching before jumping off the crate.
She gasped, catching him before he was anywhere near the ground, "What'd you do that for!?"
He just tapped his foot.
"Huh?"
He shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself and swaying back and forth.
"Oh...kindness?" Leah set him down and crossed her arms under her chin, "That doesn't count as a skill..."
Chibi was almost angry at that. He shook his head again, pulling out a notepad and a pencil, which Telly had suggested he carry with him in case they ever got separated and Chibi had to talk to someone. They were almost pristine since they were in his wormhole of a head compartment the whole time he was out. He began to make long smooth strokes across the page, taking extra care around the bumps created by the box below him. He first sketched out rather crudely a figure that was yelling and a figure who was quiet.
He paused, leaning against the pencil and gesturing to the drawing.
"Loud and soft?"
He nodded, starting another sketch of a group of people around one figure. All the people were smiling. Again, he stopped to gesture to it.
"Is that a soft person in the middle?"
He gave another nod, beginning to write. His handwriting was atrocious, but he did what he could with what he could do:
kindnes is a butiful thin. don lat anyon tell you difrent.
Leah shook her head, "No, you can't possibly mean that, can you?"
Chibi set the pencil down and rolled it around under his foot. He then pushed it away, placing both hands on his metal chest.
Kindness is a superpower. he thought, spreading his arms out and bringing them back, hugging himself tightly, You bring people together.
Leah watched one more moment before answering, "I think I get it...I help form bonds between people, is that what you're saying?"
He smiled, placing a hand to the side of his head (like he was cupping an ear), before letting his arm fall again.
"I'm a great listener? Yeah. Eve taught me how to find meaning without words. She learned it from Wall-E. He's - shall we say - a man of few words."
Yeah, he had noticed. The only time that robot ever spoke was when he thought motions alone wouldn't cut it. He had a voice to use if needed, unlike Chibi, who was completely mute.
He was proud of himself for being so well-spoken without even speaking at all.
"Hey, Chibi...I've never told anyone that...I guess I'm assuming you won't be able to tell anyone else, and...I have been pretty lonely as of late..."
Chibi sat down again, urging her to continue.
"You're such a great listener, Chibi..." Leah shakily sighed, "...sometimes...I just talk to nobody...the Earth is a great listener...Mother Nature doesn't discriminate..." she lay back, "...It feels nice now...you know, since you can actually hear me..."
Chibi felt that fluttering in his chest again. Maybe...
He took out his Chibi-Copter and floated down to the ground. Putting the propellers away, he lay down next to Leah's head.
"Hey, Chibi." Leah giggled, "Look at all the stars. Aren't they lovely?"
He looked up...
Trillions of teeny tiny dots coated the night sky. It was just like Telly said; they dusted the sky like glitter. It looked nothing like the night sky he saw in the Sanderson's backyard 794 years ago. He turned his head to look at Leah.
All the lights seemed to reflect off the shiny surface of her white metal and her black visor, the orange of her eyes adding another layer of color to the whole scene. She made eye contact and he quickly looked away.
There it was again, stronger than ever.
Was it possible? Was he...
"Chibi? You okay?"
He couldn't keep himself still. No, steady...steady...
Leah seemed to blush a light orange, "I should go home. My sisters will miss me."
Take me too? Chibi automatically thought.
"You wanna come?"
Yes!
"Alright. Let's go." She lifted him up again and carried him off.
What was wrong with him?