Meet Vivian

A little baby robot lay on her back in the damp grass, smiling with orange eyes at me. She giggled sweetly, "Hi, Mommy!"

"Hey Sweetheart." I nuzzle my visor against hers, "I found you!"

"Haha! I was always here, silly!" the little robot jumped up and ran away, "Come on! Play with me!"

Can you find me again?

***

EVE #2 "Aya" opened her yellow eyes against NOS-4-A2's chest, feeling uncomfortably hot under the thick blanket. She looked up into the sunlight streaming through the window, squinting from the brightness. She didn't even remember what the robot in her dream looked like, but it definitely wasn't Fletcher. It was someone else. Someone who didn't exist.

"Ugh..." Aya pushed away from her husband, rubbing her screen tiredly. She was normally good at getting up early, but something about that dream made her want to stay asleep. She hovered into the air and down the stairs with all the excitement of a dead animal.

"Hiya, Mom!" Fletcher sat down on the couch, having just turned on the TV, "Thanks for not making breakfast this morning!"

"Sorry, Fletcher..." Aya stretched groggily, "I overslept..."

"I forgive you. Even though I went hungry this morning."

"You did?"

"Just kidding. I took a capsule from the storehouse."

Aya joined him on the sofa, "Are you always like this? Or am I just tired?"

"No. This is just a momentous occasion!" Fletcher slapped his knee, "My mother sleeping in past ten am!? My mind is blown!"

"Har har..." Aya sunk into the fluffy cushions, "I just had a weird dream..."

"A dream?" Fletcher began flipping channels, "What happened in your dream, you burnt the lasagna?"

"No...I had another child."

"You did?" Fletcher paused, glancing at his mother, "I thought you and Dad didn't want another child?"

"Well..." Aya huffed, sliding further into the couch, "That was a decision we made when I was pregnant with you. You know, like sixty years ago."

"Sixty seven, I'm currently sixty six years old." Fletcher replied, "So you've since changed your mind or something?"

"Have I? I don't know..." Aya squeezed her eyes shut, "Ugh...should I!?"

"Sweetheart?" Nos had woken up, "Is something wrong?"

"Shouldn't you be at work?" was Aya's response.

"I didn't want to leave you alone." Nos floated over to him and lifted Aya into his arms, holding her in his lap as he sat down.

"That's sweet, Nossy..." Aya giggled.

"Mom wants another kid!"

"Wha-! Hey!"

Fletcher bolted away.

Aya growled, "It's not concrete! I just had a stupid dream, that's all! I-I-I don't really...um...want another kid..."

She felt herself sinking into Nos' lap.

"Aya..."

She looked up into his eyes, "Yeah?"

He leaned over to plant a kiss on her visor, "We can have another child."

She gasped, "Really? You're okay with that?"

"If it would make you happy..."

She twisted around so she was facing him, "It would..." she kissed his smiling lips, "Mmm..."

She hovered into the air, filled with renewed energy, "I'll be at work! We can try for a child tonight!" she giggled.

Nos felt the heat creep up his face as he smiled with her. He loved seeing her so happy.

***

Like 30-something Years Later Or Something...

Vivian drained a new battery with a lingering disgust, watching the moon rise above the dark sky. Her red wings lifted slightly above her head, waiting for the last rays of the sun to drop below the horizon. One sharp talon traced the edge of her windowsill. Maybe her dark dungeon below the mansion kept her too isolated. She hadn't seen another robot in a while.

There came a knock on the door of her room, "Vivian?"

"Hm?" she went to answer it, dropping the crumpled empty canister on the ground, "Hey, Fletcher."

"Mom wanted to take the family to the lake. Do you want to come with us?"

She shrugged, "Alright. I'll come."

"Sweet. Let's go, Viv!"

Vivian wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as she locked her bedroom door behind her. Fletcher was always excited to get Vivian out of the basement, but that didn't mean she enjoyed being outside all the time. She slept during the day just so she could avoid the sun. She shifted up the stone steps to the warmth of her family's villa.

"Mom! Dad! Vivian came out of her dungeon!"

"Vivi!" Aya gave her daughter a big hug, "It's so nice to see you again!"

She returned the hug, "Mom, I've only been away for two days."

"Still!" Aya pulled away, "Have you been getting enough energy?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Vivian replied, "I just don't like the sun."

"Me neither." Nos crossed his arms, "But maybe you should just suck it up and learn to live with it like me."

Vivian shook her head, "Whatever. Maybe one day I will."

"Okay! Let's go!" Aya said, "I promise, it'll be just us!"

"We should get going." Fletcher said, "The stars are coming out."

Vivian followed her family out the door, smiling at the moon as she flipped her hood over her head. Her multicolored eyes swept over the quiet civilization as it prepared to go to sleep, watching both humans and robots alike conversing and socializing. Thank goodness she wasn't one of them.

"Wow..." Aya was wearing a pale blue cloak with a silver clasp that night, which she pulled tighter around herself, "It's lovely out after dark..."

"I know, right?" Vivian grinned, "It's almost like we finally agree."

Aya giggled, "The lake is just over there. You can see Eve's house from here!"

"It looks nice on the old bridge." Fletcher remarked, "I like all the reflections in the water."

"It does look rather beautiful." Vivian watched the last of the red color drain from the sky, replaced with black and deep blue. There wasn't enough light around them to drown out the light of the stars, so more and more became visible as the sun disappeared. To Vivian, it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

"Hey, Viv?" Fletcher asked.

"What is it?"

"Why do you only like the night?"

"Well, because it's nice." Vivian replied, "I'm sensitive to heat, and I have sensitive eyes. I'm like a bat. I thrive in darkness."

"So do I." Nos replied, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. One day, I will get you used to the sun."

"Yeah yeah...whatever..." Vivian loosened her grip around her cape, her red wings rising upwards, "Almost..."

Once the sky was completely black, Vivian unclasped her cloak, letting it fall to the ground. Her wings began to flap, carrying her into the air as she let out a shout of glee. Her arms cut through the cool night air as she flew higher and higher, rising above the clouds, until the oxygen level was just noticeably lower. Then she dove, spinning around and around with both arms steering her descent, landing in the lake and swimming through it. She loved the feeling of the cold water across her violet metal.

"There she goes again..." Aya watched her daughter fly back into the air, the shine of the lake water particularly eye-catching during the rest of her graceful dance. Vivian's red and yellow eyes sparkled with happiness and sheer content. She loved being out at night. She loved the freedom of being on the air, without the fear of becoming blind or boiling in the scorching heat of the sun.

"She always seems to get depressed when she's in the basement for too long." Fletcher took a deep breath, "Who knew you could get seasonal depression in the middle of June?"

"It used to happen to me." Nos said, "That's why when I came to Earth, I slept during the day."

"Why did you marry Mom if you hate the sun and she loves it?"

"Simple." Nos smiled, "We came to a compromise."

"I spent more time in darkness, and he spent more time in lightness!" Aya said, "Now it doesn't bother us."

"Huh..." Fletcher watched as his sister come to a gentle stop, lowering back down to where her brother and her parents were.

"Here you go." Aya handed her the previously discarded cloak.

"Thanks, Mom." Vivian held it, but made no move to put it back on. Her skin was still wet, glistening in the steady light of the moon.

Fletcher smiled as Vivian gazed over the landscape with peace in her optics, "Do you think you could ever get Vivian used to the daylight?"

"As if..." Vivian mumbled.

"Hm. Maybe." Nos replied, "We'll see."

The family of four stayed together like this until Aya began to doze off. Vivian went to sleep early that morning, feeling better than she had in weeks. She was, after all, a creature of the night.

***