Wasteland's Caress
By SMYGO4EVA

Every time Cliffjumper looked at her, Arcee felt so exposed, unwrapped. The fellow Bot looked at her as if she was beautiful, as if she meant the whole universe to him. To be honest, Arcee had never had that before. Before she had met Cliff, her former partner, Tailgate, had occasionally talked, occasionally flirted with her while on missions, to her amusement. But they both knew that it was only just a partnership, just working together and nothing more. Arcee had taken to walking alongside the vast areas of Earth silently, not looking at or talking to any of the other Bots, not least when she was around Cliffjumper.

Arcee lived for those flashes; lived for the times there would be peace amidst the storms of war, lived for the times of tenderness over savagery, and she vowed each time to see more. She wasn't placed on Earth, with Team Prime, to sight-see on what the planet had to offer. She was there to end the war that had plagued and destroyed their home. And during all of that, Cliffjumper had not asked for anything from her; she was happy. She had found someone who cared about her, someone she cared about.

Even now, alone, Arcee felt like she was on her own now, but she had to press on, to keep fighting, in the wasteland's caress, as there was the old Earth saying, "These boots are made for walking".