Work Text:
The Garage was never really quiet. Even when there was no one there, something always made noise. Xee had noticed that pretty quickly.
Something was always happening, the Tortools play fighting with each other, the occasional clatter of loose parts, or the wind slipping through the cracks in the walls and carrying the distant sounds of the valley with it. Even when nobody was speaking directly to her, there was always some kind of sound.
But today was silent, if that was what you could call it.
Xee liked the quiet.
That was the weird part about her. She liked having the Trux and Tools around. They were pretty funny with all their bickering, and she liked knowing that if she were gone, there were people who would notice her absence.
But sometimes she still caught herself expecting to turn around and find nobody there.
Today was one of those days.
Revvit had gone with the Trux on an ore run, while Waldo and Click-Clack had gone to the ravine on a parts run. That left Xee alone in the Garage.
Or at least, she thought she was alone.
She sat on a shelf with a small collection of parts spread out in front of her: two bolts, a gear, and a bent metal plate that could probably be useful if she could figure out what to do with it. She picked up one of the bolts, turning it idly between her fingers.
Then she heard a familiar clinking sound behind her.
Xee glanced over her shoulder.
Ace was standing there.
“Hiya, Xee!” the silver-and-blue Wrenchtool exclaimed, flashing her an enthusiastic grin.
Xee gave her a small smile. “Hey.”
Ace returned the smile before scanning the empty Garage. Her eyes pandered over the abandoned bays and scattered bolts and nails before settling back on Xee.
“Where is everybody?”
“Waldo and Click-Clack went to the Ravine, and Revvit went with the Trux on an ore run.”
Ace nodded slowly. “So it’s just you?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool!” And then it was awkward. Xee stared at her.
Ace stared back. Neither of them said anything. Xee shifted the bolt between her fingers. Great. Now what?
“So… why are you here?” she asked, her sad attempt at starting another conversation sounding a little more blunt than she’d intended.
“I was gonna take a nap,” Ace explained, casually leaning against the edge of the shelf, “but then I saw you and decided to say hi.”
Xee blinked. “You came all the way here just to say hi?”
“Yup.”
Xee shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “That’s a little strange, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.” Ace shrugged, completely unbothered. “But Click-Clack isn’t here for me to scare. Might as well bother you.”
Xee let out a quiet laugh through her nose.
Ace grinned at the reaction and stepped closer, peering down at the parts Xee had been sorting through. “What are you working on?”
“Nothing yet. I’m just organizing some things.” Ace picked up a small gear and turned it between her wrench-hand. “You organize things?”
“When I have nothing to do, yeah.”
Ace glanced around the Garage. “So… a lot?”
Xee gave her a look.
Ace immediately giggled. “I’m kidding! Kidding.”
Xee rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the parts, but she could still feel Ace watching her. She wasn’t sure why.
It wasn’t uncomfortable, exactly. Just… noticeable.
After a moment, Ace spoke again.
“So, how are you adjusting to the Garage?”
That made Xee pause.
Her fingers stopped moving over the parts, and she stared down at the bolt in her hand as she thought about the question.
“Fine,” she said eventually. “I think.”
“You think?”
Xee hesitated.
“It’s…” She turned the bolt between her fingers. “It’s difficult to explain.”
Ace’s expression softened with curiosity. She stepped around the shelf and stood in front of Xee so they could talk face to face.
“Different how?”
Xee considered the question carefully.
She didn’t want it to sound like she didn’t appreciate the team. That was far from the truth.
“I like it here,” she said quietly. “I like everyone here. It’s just…”
Ace leaned a little closer, trying to pressure her into spitting it out. “It’s just…?”
Xee looked at her for a moment before finally letting out a small breath.
“I spent a long time by myself.”
Ace’s expression changed. The teasing disappeared from her face, replaced by something softer. She nodded, letting Xee know she was listening.
“So I’m still getting used to being around you guys,” Xee continued. “Sometimes I’ll hear someone coming and forget that it’s normal for someone to be there.”
Ace seemed to think about that for a second before her face brightened.
“You mean you still get surprised when you turn around and somebody’s standing behind you?”
“Exactly.”
Ace laughed. “That happens to me too.” Xee gave her a skeptical look.
“No, seriously,” Ace insisted, holding up her wrench-hand. “The Garage is huge. At least to us Tools. You can go somewhere thinking you’re completely alone, and then suddenly Waldo is behind you asking where you put some stupid little bolt.”
“That has happened to me.”
“See?”
Xee smiled.
Ace leaned back, looking rather pleased with herself. “I guess it’s kind of nice, though.”
Xee glanced at her. “What is?”
“Having people around.”
Xee’s smile softened.
“Yeah.” For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.
Xee went back to sorting the parts. Ace stayed beside her. It wasn’t awkward.
That surprised Xee more than anything.
She had always been comfortable being alone. There was nothing complicated about it. When you were alone, you didn’t have to wonder whether you were talking too much or not enough. You didn’t have to figure out what someone expected from you.
But sitting next to Ace didn’t feel like that. Ace didn’t expect anything from her. She just… stayed.
“So,” Ace said after a while, breaking the silence, “what did you do when you were traveling by yourself?”
Xee looked over and shrugged as she picked up another bolt. “A lot of things.”
“Like?”
“I’d explore, and…” She paused, searching for the right words. “Well, that was somewhat the only thing I did.”
“By yourself?”
“Usually.”
Ace’s expression softened. “That sounds lonely.” Xee thought about it. “Sometimes.”
Ace didn’t say anything.
Xee appreciated that. She had expected another question, another joke, something to fill the silence. Instead, Ace simply waited.
“Other times,” Xee continued after a moment, “I liked it.”
“I get that.” Xee glanced at her. “You do?”
Ace nodded. “Sometimes I like being by myself too.”
Xee smiled faintly. “You don’t seem like it.”
“I know.”
That made Xee chuckle. Ace grinned, clearly pleased with herself. She liked making tools laugh, especially when the person in question seemed as difficult to crack as Xee. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, tell me.” Ace leaned forward slightly, practically begging now. “Come on, please?”
Xee shook her head, but her smile remained.
“You’re just… loud.”
“I’m not loud.”
Ace frowned, looking genuinely a little offended, though the tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth gave away that she wasn’t taking it too seriously.
“You are,” Xee insisted.
“Am not!” Xee raised an eyebrow. Ace stared at her. For a second, she looked like she was actually going to argue. Then she broke into laughter. “Okay. Maybe a little.”
“A little?”
Ace sighed dramatically. “Fine. A lot.”
Xee laughed again. Ace smiled at her. For a moment, neither of them looked away.
It wasn’t a long moment. Barely a few seconds.
Still, Xee noticed it. Then Ace reached into the pile and picked up another piece of scrap, turning it over thoughtfully in her wrench-hand.
“You know,” she said, “I think we have more in common than I thought.”
Xee tilted her head. “Like what?”
“We both like figuring things out ourselves.” Ace glanced at her. “We both hate asking for help.”
“I don’t hate asking for help.” Ace gave her a knowing look. “You really do.”
“I just prefer doing things myself.” Xee looked away, suddenly finding the bolt in her hand much more interesting.
Ace smiled.
“See? Stubborn.”
Xee rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too.
Maybe this was what she was still getting used to.
And somehow, sitting beside Ace made that feel like this was how it was always supposed to be.