I wanted to write something cute so... this happened
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Tip sat cross legged in the sand, the warmth leeching into their legs a pleasing sensation as the sun began its descent. There were many hours of daylight yet, but Tip had nothing they felt like doing today other than the task they were already bent on. Each of their weapons lay in front of them on the sand, carefully parallel to each other: machete, smaller knives, spiked knuckles, the one 9mm they kept just in case. One by one they worked through the line, cleaning, sharpening, repairing, reloading. Every weapon received the same treatment, the same long inspection of handle, guard, and blade, the same smooth strokes of the whetstone catered to its bent, the same self-satisfied twist of Tip’s lips when they tested the edge and found it to their liking.
Veronica had wandered off, bored, after servicing her own power fist, and only ED-E remained, whirring quietly to and fro behind Tip as they sat and worked. They found the sound lulling and peaceful in a way few things were now.
They finished with the blades but didn’t move to pick up the 9mm immediately, just sat with their eyes half closed, listening. ED-E motored back and forth, stuck in the same pattern he’d been in for hours now. Tip twisted, looking over their shoulder to the little robot, and let out a little whistle. ED-E paused, swiveled, and rocked side to side when he was facing Tip. They jerked their head, turning back around and patting the patch of sand next to them, and picked up the 9mm.
Halfway through cleaning the 9mm, Tip heard the robot whirr, click, and putter closer. He hovered beside them, rotating slowly from what felt like watching their actions to keeping an eye on the whole Mojave. Tip kept working, finally slotting the magazine back in place and aiming down at a cactus fifty feet away. They frowned, shrugged, and set it back on its scrap of fabric on the sand. Guns were...not their favorite. They had their uses but by and large, Tip preferred to only hold on to them as a temporary holdover between looting and selling.
With the cleaning cloth in their hand, Tip looked over at ED-E, squinting one eye closed. They reached over, lightly swiping the cloth across his shell. He rotated back to face them, beeping softly. Tip beeped back. ED-E pulsed back a few inches before moving forward again, closer to Tip, who chirped at him and held up the cloth. ED-E rotated minutely, as though looking between the cloth and Tip, before hovering closer and dropping lower, within easy reach of the courier and their cleaning cloth.
Veronica came back from her walkabout to see Tip sitting on the ground with ED-E practically in their lap, clicking, chirping, and beeping at each other while Tip polished ED-E’s shell. She hung back and watched as the courier finished cleaning and held ED-E gently by his gun mount, balancing a gourd blossom on the top of his dome, just above his front grill. They tapped the laser with one last chirp and turned back to their weapons, brushing them off one last time before re-homing them on their person or in their pack.