There wasn't a place more perfect for WALL-E. The single most beautiful robot in the universe was flying at his side while they strolled through a wonderland full of interesting trinkets and doo-dads. Even better, on the outskirts of the once great city, another world was emerging, one that was full of green plants and moist dirt that would cling to his treads with a death-grip, prompting a visit to MO, an expert in obliterating such impossible to clean grime from his chassis. EVE had been especially pleased to see WALL-E's treads returned to their full-splendor, earning a single sonorous ooo from her vocalizer which did nothing but wonderful things to his internals. There was nothing else that had ever or would ever elicit such a strong reaction from his chassis. It was almost to the point that it was uncontrollable. He didn't mind it though, not one bit.
EVE's voice cut through the silence, stopping him mid-way through one of the aisles that weaved a path across the towers of trash surrounding them.
"WALL-E," Eve cooed, immediately earning his attention.
He met her gaze and peered straight into the center of her iridescent eyes. Instantly, his body went limp as he took in the absolute beauty of her flawless chassis.
She laughed, that symphonic laugh that was worth more than all the stars in the sky.
A single hand floated away from her body and pointed eastward.
"Look," she said.
There in the center of the city sat a pile of shiny objects that overflowed from the base of the very first tower he'd ever constructed. His aged memory banks recalled the memory distinctly, it was one he looked back at with great pride. All the rust spread across his body almost seemed to worsen as he inspected the structure and silently calculated all the years he'd spent collecting trash on his own. Part of him looked on at that epoch of his life as a waste of time that could've been spent with EVE instead, but his more logical side could only come to one conclusion: without him, that plant would've never been able to grow and without EVE the humans would've never returned to Earth. In a way, the plant was their sort of adoptive child. His metal eyebrows flicked up and down a single millimeter wondering briefly if it was still alive. It's position was not unknown to him, the captain had told him extensively about how he'd planted it with the rest and where it was specifically.
WALL-E shook his head, the angelic glow of EVE's plating drew him back out of the depths of his memories. His photo-receptors were almost glued to her features before he saw the twinkle of a peculiar object in the distance.
"Ooo," he gawked at an assortment of mechanical devices painted in neon colors, making a bee-line for them while glancing back to ensure EVE was close behind or, preferably, at his side.
Old memories rushed through his processor as he looked over the pile and grabbed at every functional looking device he could find. His hands worked through them all, shifting and playing with each. Occasionally, he would roll over to EVE's side and hold up his findings to her face so she could share in the excitement. Not once did it cross his mind to leave her out of his beloved pass time, the one thing that had kept him sane for the hundreds of years he'd spent alone. EVE never dared to leave his side either, she always there, watching and waiting as patiently as ever.
WALL-E rolled on by to the outer edges of his pile. It was finally beginning to thin after all these years. His body bounced up in joy and his vocalizer emitted another warble of surprise. Right on the edge was an oval-shaped object, white as EVE's shell. In fact, it looked exactly like her with a wide body that thinned down to a single point. It was an egg-shell perfectly encased within a rectangular plastic box.
WALL-E cocked his head from side to side and gently extended his hand towards it. His fingers tightened around it until a crack echoed into the air. The sound to him was just as severe as the rumble of the rocket that had taken EVE from him. He yelped in surprise, keeping his arm in place so as to not damage the shell further. His head twitched, switching his view from the object to EVE hovering closer towards him.
"WALL-E?" She cooed gently, her voice like a chilled hand pressed against his processor.
"Eva, daamagggee," WALL-E said, pointing towards the shell in his hand with his other arm. His lens whirred with unease.
The very sight of his pained look motivated her into action. She floated down, her arm swimming through the air to clutch the fragile shell into one hand. Several cracks had formed along it's fat body but otherwise, it was still intact.
"Ooo," EVE's eyes blinked for a single moment. That twitch of a movement was enough to cast away all the panic that had built up into WALL-E's circuitry, washing relief through him like a blast of chill air on his internal components.
Her eyes widened, realization spread across her face. "Like me," she pointed a finger at herself.
WALL-E nodded, his arms retracting closer to his body. "Beautiffffulll," he said, his goggle eyes softening and angling down. A sparkle of sunlight jumped across the lens of his face as he took in EVE's form in full.
She laughed, the sound intimate and subdued. Their eyes met yet again as they'd done countless times before, yet each time, the spark of their love never faded, instead it renewed with a fiery passion that burned brighter than all the stars in the universe.
EVE held up the egg-shell, putting it between herself and WALL-E, and turned it upside down as WALL-E had meant to do before. Their chassis's met, and with the same grace that never failed to entrance WALL-E, she perfectly balanced the shell on top of his box-shaped chassis. Every process and sub-routine running within his body was completely focused on her and her only. Excitement built up into his circuitry waiting for her next move. She floated impossibly closer until he could see the lines making up her screen face. In a single blink, her eyes turned half-lidded as she clinked their screen-faces into a unison of glass and steel. She slipped her free hand into his, their digits filling in the gaps of each other's hands perfectly.
No spark burst out from their heads this time, only the heat of their sun-baked chassis's met and their voices intertwined as they hummed Hello Dolly to one another. Nothing had to be said, EVE perfectly understood the fear coursing through his circuitry and had already found the perfect antidote for it.
WALL-E sighed, looking out at the sun hovering down along it's path in the sky, casting longer and longer shadows across the ground until the city darkened and the rays of sunlight filtered through every crack and crevice present on the towers of garbage poking into the sky.
When the time came to pull apart, they kept a firm grip on each other's hands.
EVE gently placed the egg shell into his free hand. "Careful. Fix. Home."
The cracks on its body were still there, just as WALL-E had feared, his limbs nearly froze as he inspected it closer. His processor couldn't think of anyway to repair it, not without EVE's help of course. She was right, the best place to repair it would be at their truck home.
Hydraulics whirred as he opened the front of his compacter body and placed the egg right in the center, perfectly balanced and safe from harm. Just as he'd done with the plant.
"Fiiix laaaterr," WALL-E said, his head bobbed up and down as he spoke.
EVE nodded. Their hands clenched tighter as WALL-E peered through the aisle of trash towers, watching the sparkle and shine of EVE's chassis against the sun's glare. The sight of her never ceased to amaze him. He sighed, content with the life he'd been given. EVE pressed up closer to him until the sides of their bodies clinked together. Smooth white plating slid against rusted metal as she lowered down and nuzzled the side of his head. WALL-E instantly leaned into the touch. A moment later, they were back on their way through the city, the unbearable heat gone from WALL-E's processor.
The hours passed, WALL-E continued his search for more items, not a single one gained his attention. That was until he'd made his way back towards the center of the city, back towards the pile where he'd found the shell. It had never left his mind. It simply looked too similar to EVE for him to consider anything but repairing it. Fear and worry once again overwhelmed him, the sensation a familiar one that conjured up more painful memories from deep within his memory banks. It was the exact same one that had gutted him every single time he'd rolled over Hal, his cockroach friend, his only friend for a long while. And long ago, it had plagued him every-time he passed by another defunct WALL-E unit.
There was still time to make things right.
He flung open his compactor door and grabbed at the egg shell, his hands perfectly still but the rest of his body shivering in fear.
But what could he do to fix it? He'd only ever watched as the world collapsed around him, avoiding everything in order to focus on his directive and his survival, nothing else.
WALL-E let out a frustrated warble and held the shell up towards the sun. Glints of light sparkled through the cracks like two rectangular visor-eyes.
A shadow robbed it of its sunlit eyes. He lowered it, finding EVE floating directly in front of him.
A mixture of satisfaction and fear squirmed its way through his circuitry and programming. He popped his eyebrows up as he finally understood the true issue that was plaguing his mind.
"Yyyouuu," he pointed at the shell again. "Breaaakee. Afraaaidee."
EVE cocked her head, puzzling out what exactly he'd meant to say in her head. The glow of her screen-face softened as she deciphered his message. She shook her head, hovering closer to him. "I am here."
WALL-E broke eye contact. It felt wrong to do so, as if he'd broken a rule in his own programming, yet it had been so long since he'd last followed it. His eyes angled down. "Afrraaide. Leaaave."
Her reply came immediately. "No," her eyes blinked again into an almost angered expression. "Never."
She rushed forward, pinning their bodies together and embracing him with both her arms. WALL-E shifted into her touch and mimicked her position, wrapping his arms around her as best he could. Their heads met again and this time, a faint line of electricity bridged the gap between them.
"Heeeree," WALL-E said, lowering his voice as best he could. "Youu. Heeerree. Foooreeever."
EVE's vocalizer released a spurt of static—a mixture of pure joy and pain, of love and anguish. "Yes. And you. Here. Forever."
WALL-E pressed the edges of his goggle-eyes against her glass-face, relishing in the hum of her internals and the buzz of her screen-face. It was enough to send tingles of joy like static up through his entire chassis.
By the time they'd pulled apart, the sun had begun to set on the horizon, washing the city in an orange hue.
EVE floated down, took the shell from his hands, and for the first time since they'd arrived back on earth, opened the compartment that spanned nearly her entire body, and placed it safely within. The glow of her screen-face brightened as she laid eyes on WALL-E again, floating down to cradle him into her arms. They stared into each other's eyes even as they flew into the sky together.
"Home. Fix," EVE said.
WALL-E nodded and pulled at one of her hands, wrapping it in one of his own. Internal temperatures plummeted, all his worries washed away. EVE had never once failed to lift his spirits, and he desperately wished to always do the same for her. WALL-E caressed the underside of her head and nuzzled against it, feeling the hum of her internals tingle the hard plating of his eyes and audio-receptors. Below, their truck home grew ever closer. Just the sight of it drew out a sigh of content from deep within his metal heart.
This life was perfect.
A/N: Had the idea to create a series of short stories based on the animated epilogue shown during the end credits of the movie. Possibly with other authors. I don't know, I'm still thinking things through. Seems like a fun idea. I also thought of maybe doing a story set around the WALL-E comic series as well, though it's been awhile since I last read them. Anyways, thanks for reading!