Work Text:
“Are you excited to watch the movie, Sage?” Sparky asks as she sits down on the couch in Living Room 2 beside the Walter Worker, the large screen TV in front of them already queued up with the movie she selected for tonight.
“Yeah. The movie looks funny. Though I can’t say I know much about the source material.” Sage replies. “I think it’s based off a video game though, right?”
“Yup yup! It’s supposed to be a film adaption of the Sonic the Hedgehog games and comics. I don’t know much about the franchise, but the characters looked cute and the movie trailer looked fun.” Sparky explains happily.
“Well, I’m sold.” Sage smiles at her friend and accepts the bowl of popcorn that Sparky hands her before pressing play on the remote and starting the movie.
Throughout the movie Sparky would peek over at Sage to see if she was enjoying herself, and much to her delight it seemed that not only was the Walter Worker entertained by the film, but also quite relaxed and content looking as she sat there with a blanket draped comfortably over her lap and a half empty popcorn bowl resting on the couch cushion next to her.
Sage could feel herself winding down from the day, catching how Sparky would peer over every so often from the corner of her eye. She settles more into her spot on the couch, becoming engrossed in the movie and finding the humor charming. This felt...good, just chilling and watching a movie with a friend. The Walter Worker really couldn’t recall when she last felt this relaxed as she blinks slowly at the screen.
About halfway through the movie when Sparky didn’t hear Sage chuckle after a humorous scene, she looks over to find that her Walter Worker friend had dozed off. The copper automaton smiles softly at the sight. It was nice that her human friend felt so at ease, especially since she knew that Sage often times was more tired than she let on. Sage had once told her that she had bouts of insomnia, which understandably left her feeling tired during the day.
As Sparky quietly goes about clicking the movie off and tidying up the popcorn bowl, she recalls a recent conversation she had with Zer0 where he mentioned in passing that he’d helped Sage calm down after a particularly bad night terror shortly after she moved into the Manor. The younger Walter automaton had also expressed a little concern about Sage; how she seemed to be doing better, at least whenever he’d ask her, but he also suspected that she was simply not telling him the worst of it, maybe out of fear of worrying him. After that conversation Sparky and Zer0 pinky swore that they’d both keep an eye on their Walter Worker friend as best they could without being overbearing, or too obvious about it.
Dimming the lights in the room, Sparky then moves the blanket so that it covered up to Sage’s shoulders. She didn’t mind that they didn’t get to finish the movie right now, her human friend’s rest was more important. She leaves a post-it note on the couch cushion next to Sage, telling her just that.
Sage would wake up later, see the note and text an apology to Sparky, promising that they’d finish the movie on her next night off.
Excited to try out a new hair braid tutorial she found on the internet, and lacking the hair length to try it on herself, Sparky decides to ask Sage if she’d would like to volunteer. Upon finding the Walter Worker on her lunch break, she jumps at the chance to ask her in person.
“Miss Sage! Can I please try this out on your hair? I saw it and it made me think of you! It’s like a French braid sorta deal but a pony tail too, see?” The copper bot practically hops on her heels in excitement as she shows Sage the video on her phone, who blinks in surprise at the copper bot, unsure for a brief moment before turning her attention to the video playing, the pretty young woman hosting the short tutorial smiling while she explains in simple steps how to style a French braid pony tail on herself.
As Sparky happily comments about how pretty it would look, Sage can’t help but realize just how much she actually trusts the copper bot to even consider turning her back and allowing Sparky to do it…Typically she didn’t like her hair touched by others, and wasn’t fond of the idea of people standing directly behind her. Echoes of the past reminded her of unseen objects held by people with cruel intentions, and of the pain that usually followed…
The Walter Worker stops herself before her thoughts could run off too far and take a much darker turn.
Sparky would never do anything to intentionally hurt me….and honestly? The hairstyle is pretty cool.
She nearly misses Sparky’s excited follow up question when the video ends, blinking herself back to the present.
“Can I, Miss Sage? It’s totally fine if you’d rather not of course, I just thought it was neat!”
Sage offers a shy, yet warm smile to her friend. "Sure. Just leave my bangs down, okay? I don’t want my billboard of a forehead to blind anyone.”
Sparky promises, and later that day when Sage finishes her work, the two meet back up in Sparky’s room where the copper bot had two folding chairs set out, one in front of the other, indicating for the Walter Worker to sit in front of her. Once seated, Sage reminds herself to stop fidgeting, trying to quell the surge of anxiety she felt building. Nonetheless, her knee still bounces a little as she sits there.
If Sparky noticed, she didn’t say anything, likely not wanting to make a big deal out of it. Though she does make sure to show Sage everything she was going to use on her hair in order to try and replicate the hairstyle in the video; a hair brush, a few elastic hair ties, and bobby pins.
“I’m ready when you are,” Sparky says kindly after showing her friend the stuff.
“Ready.” Sage nods after a brief moment, silently appreciative of just how much space the copper bot was holding for her, even though she knew her friend had no idea just what had transpired in the past to cause so much seemingly unnecessary apprehension.
Sparky smiles then takes a seat behind her and gently takes the Walter Worker’s hair out from its usual low pony tail and starts to brush it out. Sage would soon feel her shoulders slowly relax and drop. It honestly felt really nice, the brush on her scalp and the slight tingling she could feel from Sparky’s electrical system whenever her copper fingers would make direct contact with her skin.
The oval shaped mirror hanging on the wall across from where the pair sat also helped put Sage’s mind at ease. She could peer up and see what Sparky was doing whenever she wanted to. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered if that was intentional on Sparky’s part, or just a happy accident.
After some comfortable conversation, Sparky starts humming a quiet tune as she works on Sage’s hair, separating the sections she needed to make the braid. Sage blinks slowly, actually feeling more relaxed than she thought she would. Her attention drifts to Sparky’s humming, trying to place the song and unaware that her eyes were starting to drift closed.
Noticing how quiet she'd been and her relaxed posture, Sparky waits for a few moments before gently nudging her friend’s shoulder. “Miss Sage, did you doze off?” The copper bot asks, gentle amusement evident in her voice. “I noticed your chin dip a lil as I was braiding your hair.”
"Uh,” Sage feels warmth rush to her cheeks as she blinks up to Sparky’s reflection in the mirror across from them. “Yeah, I guess I did. Sorry about that, Sparky.”
“No need to apologize!” Sparky assures, meeting Sage’s gaze in the mirror and offering a gentle smile.
“Brushing out my hair felt really nice. And I guess your humming was just enough to relax me quite a bit,” Sage rambles, feeling a tad sheepish. “What was that song anyway? It sounded familiar.”
“Oh! That was Joan Baez’s cover of the song ‘Fennario’. I heard it recently and it just stuck for some reason,” Sparky replies.
"Nice, I love that version. Got it saved to my playlist in fact. That’s probably why it sounded so familiar,” the Walter Worker adds as Sparky gathers the last flyaways of her hair and smooths them back the way she wanted them.
“Neat! Maybe we can share playlists sometime, that’d be fun.” After a few more touch ups, Sparky is satisfied with how the hairstyle turned out, and soon ushers Sage up and over to the mirror on the wall so she could get a better look herself.
“That actually turned out really good, Sparky!” Sage comments happily as she checks it out in the mirror, thanking the copper bot when she holds up a small hand mirror behind her so that she could see the braid in better detail.
“I’m glad you like it!” The happiness shining in Sparky’s blue optics was well worth any momentary discomfort Sage felt.
On the following quiet Saturday afternoon, Sparky turns her attention from cloud gazing in the peaceful Californian skies overhead to Sage laying next to her on the large checkered picnic blanket they had spread out in the warm grass. Blue optics shine softly in a mix of concern and curiosity as she thoughtfully regards the Walter Worker, noting the gentle rise and fall of her breathing and how at ease her human friend looked as she dozes off.
A few moments later, as if sensing someone’s eyes on her, Sage blinks awake and meets the automaton’s gaze with a sheepish smile.
“Miss Sage, are you sleeping okay at night?” Sparky finally voices curiously as she sits up on her elbows.
“For the most part yes,” Sage answers honestly after a hesitant pause, blinking what sleep remained out of her eyes as she sits up. “I’m not meaning to be rude, and it’s not like I’m bored spending time with you.” She stretches a little before she continues. “I think it’s just that it feels...safe, around you, so it’s easier for me to relax. I’m always super tired every time I meet up with you or anything.”
“Well, I’m glad that I feel safe to be around,” Sparky beams. “If you do just want to take a nap at some point, let me know! I can read a book or something if it’ll help you fall asleep.”
Sage chuckles softly, warmth flooding her chest at her friend’s earnest, no second-thought genuine offer.
“Thanks, Sparky. I’ll keep that in mind.”
A few nights later, Sparky sits in an armchair across from The Spine in The Hall of Wires as he works through some guitar chords for one of the band’s newer songs when her phone buzzes with a text. She clicks her phone on, and The Spine doesn’t miss her slight frown of concern as she reads the text.
“Everything alright?” He asks curiously, pausing mid-strum.
“Miss Sage just texted to ask what I was up to. She’s mentioned something about having a rough night, and wanting some company for a bit.” Sparky replies and then pockets her phone after sending a brief text back. “I’ve been a little worried about her lately. It doesn’t seem like she gets enough rest as is.”
The Spine nods, understanding on some level. He wasn’t sure what Sage may’ve gone through, but he could certainly empathize with her struggles with sleep. After all, he was no stranger to rough nights and nightmares.
“Go ahead and check on her, darlin’,” he says with a small puff of steam.
“I do love how the song is coming along and I definitely want to hear more when you’re ready.” Sparky stands up and goes to softly kiss Spine’s cheek. “You’re sure you don’t mind me leaving in the middle of your practice?”
“I don’t mind.” Spine assures with a small puff of steam from his vents. “You’re a good friend to our Miss Sage. With you looking after her I’m sure she’ll feel better in no time.” The green glow of his optics follow Sparky as she exits The HOW.
He could certainly understand Sparky’s concern. It was a kind of unspoken but mutual understanding among the bots – Walter made or not-- to not only take care of each other, but their human Walter Workers too. He smiles softly to himself and returns his attention to the song.
Sparky soon arrives at Sage’s room and knocks on the door frame. When the door is opened, she couldn’t help noticing just how tired her friend looks.
“Hey Sparky. Thanks for coming, I hope I’m not interrupting your night?” Sage asks, brushing some hair from her eyes as she steps back to let Sparky in.
“No, you’re not interrupting. I’m happy to help.” Sparky replies with a soft smile as she enters the room, realizing as she steps inside that she’d never actually been in Sage’s room before, and didn’t want to make it obvious that she was checking out the decor...or rather the lack of in this case.
Sage’s room was a bit spartan in nature, but quite tidy. Other than the desk by the window that had a closed sketchbook and some drawing accessories spread around it, and the dresser across from the queen size bed with a small LED TV screen on it, a standard for most residential rooms in the Manor; that was really it. She was happy to note that the blanket she’d made for Sage shortly after she’d arrived at the Manor was currently on the bed.
Ziggy, Sage’s beagle, jumps up on the bed as Sparky enters and whines excitedly at her. His tail wagging like a plane’s propeller when she goes over and gives him some soft pats on the head and scratches around his ears.
“Feel free to sit on the bed if you want.” Sage offers, crossing to stand near the dresser. She was looking a little uneasy, and stiff to the copper bot when she shifts her gaze over to Sage after carefully sitting down on the bed beside Ziggy.
“Thanks! Also, I love your jammies.” Sparky remarks kindly, indicating to the sheep patterned lounge pants Sage wore, with the matching sleep shirt that sported a little fluffy sheep embroidered on the shoulder.
Sage seemed to relax a little at that, smiling a bit as she glances down at her PJ’s. “Oh, thanks. I love the sheep on ‘em, and they’re super comfy….I like your bunny slippers,” she adds, trying not to feel awkward. She’d asked Sparky here because she didn’t want to be alone, but it seemed that’s just where her plan ended.
“Thank you! They’re so fluffy!” Sparky giggles softly, lightly swinging her feet from where she sat at the end of the bed. She looks over at Sage, blue optics glowing gently, knowing it was a little hard for her friend to open up at times, but she felt proud of Sage for even asking her to come over in the first place.
“I don’t mind hanging out for as long as you need. We could watch a movie, or play a game... oh! We could even set up a pillow fort too.” Sparky happily suggests, excitement in her optics.
Sage couldn’t help but smile at the bot’s enthusiasm, it was rather contagious after all. “A pillow fort does sound fun. I think I’ve got a bunch of extra pillows in my closet. If not, the linen closet down the hall would probably have extras...”
“Neat! Let’s check what you’ve got and we’ll go from there.” Sparky excitedly gets up from the bed, bouncing Ziggy a little on the mattress in the process before she happily strides over to Sage’s closet door and opens it. She pauses once she clicks on the light inside and sees the closet’s contents, her optics growing slightly wide.
“Whoa…”
Sage perks a brow. She knew it wasn’t that messy in there…
“What’s wrong?” The Walter Worker moves to peer over Sparky’s shoulder, trying to see what had surprised her friend so much.
“Oh! Nothing’s wrong Miss Sage, I just had no idea you had so much plaid!” Sparky replies earnestly, lightly brushing her copper fingers over one of the many plaid patterned long sleeved shirts that hung neatly on the hangers. “It’s like the Narnia closet, but for lumberjacks! It’s really cool though!”
“Yeah...I’m pretty sure it’s bordering on a sickness at this point,” Sage laughs, finding Sparky’s genuine reaction priceless. “There’s probably a normal limit to how much plaid one person should have and this....this isn’t it.”
“Ooh, but this one is super pretty, it even sparkles a little!” Sparky remarks, carefully extracting a hanger that held a red long sleeved plaid shirt with subtle glittery gold accents along the black checks.
“Ah yeah, I love that one. Got it for the holidays.”
“It’d look great with those boots,” Sparky enthuses, pointing to a pair short heeled, mid calf-length, dark brown boots with brass buckle accents sitting on the floor of the closet. At this point it seems the copper bot was becoming pretty well distracted by all the treasures she was finding in the closet
“Yes, Sparky.” Sage agrees with a soft chuckle. “I feel like we’ve gotten off track. The pillows should be on the top shelf to your left.”
“Oop...you’re right. Sorry, Sage!” Sparky giggles and feels herself blush a little, her cheeks starting to glow softly as she puts the hanger back, finally realizing that she may’ve gotten a little carried away.
“No need to apologize. Your reaction was great, I needed the laugh.” Sage assures, amusement in her hazel eyes. “Go ahead and step out for a sec. I don’t think you’ll be able to reach the pillows. I’ll get ‘em down and hand them to you.”
Once that was done, and a sort of half fort was set up around the bed with some fairy lights for added atmosphere, Sparky and Sage get settled on the bed. Having decided to watch something while they’d been setting up the fort, Sage now begins scrolling through what’s available on a streaming service and at Sparky’s suggestion, chooses The Golden Girls. Soon, the 80’s comedy sitcom’s iconic beginning credits and theme song; ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’ starts playing, and Sparky and Sage enjoy the charming antics of the show’s main characters; four elderly women living together as roommates in Florida, the series chronicling the hilarious mischief these four friends often find themselves in the middle of.
After the end credits ran on what must’ve been over a dozen of the short episodes, Sage clicks pause on the remote and peers over at Sparky beside her on the bed, an almost odd sheen in her normally hazel colored eyes as they caught the low, gentle glow of the surrounding fairy lights.
“Thank you Sparky. I really appreciate you hanging out with me like this. It helps more than you know.”
“So I guess what you’re really saying is, ‘thank you for being a friend’?” Gentle humor sparkles in Sparky’s optics as she lightly nudges elbows with Sage, being careful to not jostle Ziggy who had curled up in a sleepy puppy ball between the two of them.
“Yes, all of that.” Sage chuckles softly. She felt so much more relaxed now, and even Sparky could tell that the tension she’d been holding in her shoulders was pretty much gone now.
“Do you wanna watch a couple more episodes?” Sparky gently asks, noting how Sage was blinking slowly as she sat back against her pillows.
“Sure, if you’re up for it.” Sage answers, politely covering a yawn before glancing at the time on her phone. “Oof, it’s getting late though. Are you sure?”
“Yup! I’ll stay for another few episodes or until you fall asleep.” She smiles and gently pats Sage’s hand before she could interject. “Before you ask, I don’t mind at all.”
Feeling rather lovingly bullied and a bit too sleepy to try and convince her robotic friend otherwise, Sage acquiesces, and settles back against the pillows, smiling softly when Sparky gently tucks the blanket she’d crocheted over her shoulders, the action reminding the Walter Worker of a rare, soft memory from her childhood. Her gaze turns inward for a moment, recalling late nights, an aunt’s warm voice as she said goodnight, and her gentle touch as she tucked Sage into bed. With her chest flooding with warmth, she mentally shakes herself back to the present and focuses back on the show, subtly blinking a few unexpected tears from her eyes before Sparky could notice.
Sparky keeps an eye on her friend, and only once she was sure that Sage had dozed off completely did she turn off the TV and make sure the Walter Worker was comfy before leaving a note on her desk;
‘Sage,
I hope you get some good sleep. I was glad to help and it was fun watching that show with you!
Let me know if you want to have a for real sleep-over sometime! I’d love to set it up.
Sweet dreams!
Sparky’
The copper automaton gives a final appraising glance around before her gaze lands on the Walter Worker and her faithful beagle sleeping peacefully on the bed, the soft glow of the fairy lights lending a tranquil atmosphere to the room. She quietly shuts the door, leaving them both to what she hoped were sweet dreams.