Moment

Legal Crap: I don't own Energon, or any of the characters hereto forthwith. Did I spell that right? Eh, not like I give a damn anyway…

"So… why are we here again?" a brown haired teenager inquired, his eyes looking around. His dark haired companion sighed.

"To relax." she said patiently.

"And we couldn't have done that at Ocean City?" the male responded, sitting down on the grass. His friend laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Kicker, we're in a quiet place for once," she said, gesturing with her hands at the surrounding area. It was a little clearing in the middle of the forest (which bore a resemblance to the area destroyed in Jungle City, Kicker thought wryly) which was pleasant and (Kicker hated to admit it) quite beautiful. "Maybe if you would let yourself quit being so jaded you would enjoy it more.

"Maybe, Misha. Maybe. Who knows?" he responded flippantly, as Misha sat down beside him. She shook her head and began playing with a blade of grass.

"I'm starting to wonder if you came with me of your own free will," Misha commented, her eyes focusing on the ground. "You don't look that thrilled to be here. Is my company really that dull?" she asked teasingly.

"N-No! It's just – dammit, I hate when you do that!" Kicker exclaimed, realizing that she was once again messing around with him again. "For her own enjoyment." the young man mused. Misha smiled impishly.

"I know… but it's so fun," she said happily, as she lay down on the soft grass. "It's not my fault if you're so gullible…" Misha finished, giggling a little.

"I'm glad I'm such a good source of amusement to you." he said, sulking slightly. Misha sighed, sitting up and sidling up to him.

"Come on, Kicker! I was just kidding around-" her voice trailed off as Kicker grinned at her.

"Gotcha. And you say I'm gullible. That's rich." That comment earned him a smack to the shoulder. "Hey, what's with the violence?"

Misha simply rolled her eyes. "Nevermind." They stayed there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, simply taking their time and enjoying the tranquility of it all. Surprisingly, it was Misha who broke the silence. "Kicker?"

"Mm?"

"Why did you come with me today?" she asked. Truth be told, she was curious; while she wasn't complaining, Misha knew that peace and quiet really weren't Kicker's cup of tea-

"I wanted some peace and quiet, that's all." Kicker said, blowing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

"Well," Misha thought. "That theory got shot down rather quickly…"

Her surprise must have shown on her face, because Kicker groaned. "What? What's so shocking?"

Misha quickly held up her hands in defense while laughing a little. "Nothing, Kicker… I was just curious, that's all."

"Curious?" Kicker asked, now looking somewhat interested. Misha blinked.

"Well… yes. I mean, we really don't do stuff like this too often…" she said, not knowing how to finish her sentence. Kicker nodded.

"Ah… sorry." he said. Misha's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously.

"No, don't apologize! I just didn't think you'd go for… you know…" she said, once again unable to express her thoughts. It was silent for another few minutes, until Kicker spoke.

"You really want to know?" he asked, looking serious. Misha nodded.

"If it's all right with you…" she responded. Kicker looked at her for a few more seconds, then looked down.

"Here, it's quiet," he began. "Here, it's peaceful," Kicker paused, closing his eyes. "Here, no one can get hurt because of me…"

Misha was on this in an instant. "Get hurt because of… Kicker, what do you mean?"

Kicker laughed bitterly. "Come on, Misha. You have to admit, a large amount of the battles up until now have been because of me and my stupid "Energon Sense." he said, an expression of self-loathing on his face.

Misha frowned. "Just because you sensed Energon that doesn't mean the battle up until now were your fault!" she countered, shaking her head. "Honestly, Kicker, you're so much harder on yourself then you have any right to be…"

Kicker rolled his eyes. "Most of the battles revolved around mining Energon. I sense Energon, and usually open my big mouth about it. Ergo…" he explained, making hand gestures as he went along for effect. Misha sighed sadly.

"Kicker, it's not your fault that the Decepticons want Energon, and the Autobots are willing to defend it." she told him, saddened by the fact her friend blamed himself for many of the conflicts so far.

"But still, there's no denying that I usually make a bad situation worse," he said, knowing he was whining and hating himself for it. "I just don't want anyone else to be hurt because of me!"

"Kicker-" she began. Misha hoped she could make him feel better. She knew that despite his occasionally sour demeanor, he was a kind person, and it hurt her to see him like this.

"I'm sorry… but I've seen most of the Autobots been hurt at one time or another because of an Energon source I told them about. Ironhide, Hot Shot… even Optimus," he paused, taking a deep breath. He snuck a quick glance at his pretty friend, and he saw that she was upset. "But… what if they decide to go after Ocean City again? What happens if my mom, my dad, my sister, Rad, anyone I know… if they got hurt, I couldn't take it…" he choked out. Then, without knowing exactly what he had in mind, he reached out with his arm and pulled Misha closer. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"K-Kicker?…" she asked, putting his name as a question rather then anything else. If he heard her, he gave no response, holding her tightly.

""But… if you ever got injured because of me…" Kicker paused, not quite believing what he was doing. But, seeing as she hadn't smacked him yet, it couldn't hurt to go along with his instincts. "I… I wouldn't be able to…" his voice failed him right there. He had no idea how his mindset had shifted so drastically, but he was telling the truth. She was important to him…

Misha said nothing, staying quite still for a few seconds. Then slowly, she laid her head on his chest, much to Kicker's surprise.

"You… you're an idiot," Misha whispered, looking up at him. "We all know the risks of the war, just like you. But we fight anyway." she said, her eyes locking with his. "And blaming yourself for all this? That's… it's not your fault…" she gently scolded, hoping that would bring him back.

"But… I-" Kicker suddenly went silent when Misha pressed her finger to his lips.

"Enough, Kicker," she said, her affectionate tone defusing whatever he was about to say next. "We came here to relax, right? So I say we leave this depressing topic and just try to unwind, okay?" she suggested, smiling up at him. Kicker was surprised momentarily, but then broke out into a grin.

"Yeah...sure."

"Wow! It's so beautiful…" Misha uttered, looking at the setting sun. They had stayed there for the entire day (not that Kicker was complaining… having Misha use him as a pillow wasn't what he would call a bad thing) but it was time to go. Kicker nodded.

"You aren't kidding…" he said reverently, the glow capturing his attention. Misha smiled, then shifted her position so that the back of her head was against Kicker's chest. If he was surprised, he said nothing.

"I wouldn't mind coming back here… would you?" she inquired.

The feel of Kicker's arms sliding around her neck was her answer.

"So… is that a yes?" she teased, gently reaching up to grasp one of his hands with her own.

"Hnn," was all he said, his fingers caressing her hand absentmindedly. Misha giggled suddenly. Kicker blinked. "Huh?"

"No, it's nothing…" Misha said. "I'm just kind of ticklish, that's all." she said, pointing toward her hand. Unknown to Misha, Kicker had an evil grin on his face.

"Ticklish? Just your hand?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

"No… I'm just really – oh no, don't even think about it, Kicker…" she threatened, feeling his hands creep down to her sides.

"Relax, I'm just conducting a… experiment." he assured her.

"Kicker, I swear, if you do, I'll – hahaha… quit it…. heehee…" Pretty soon she was laughing hysterically, trying in vain to get Kicker to stop. Finally, in a last ditch attempt, she threw her weight backwards, causing Kicker to land flat on his back with a startled yell. She pinned him down triumphantly, both of them laughing now. "HA! What do you plan to do now?" She then realized that he had stopped laughing, and it was then she realized the position they were in. There was nothing but silence for a few seconds.

"Uh…" Kicker got out. That was as far as he got before giving in to the urge. A mutual urge judging from the blush on Misha's face. Without thinking about it, he closed his eyes, and tilted his head up.

The feel of her soft lips on his was his reward. He felt her arms encircle his neck as they lay there, their embrace hesitant. Kicker raised his hands, gently running his fingers through Misha's lustrous dark hair, earning a "mmm…" of approval. There were no Transformers, no war, no Energon… it was just them, in that moment, and all they could do… was touch, feel… and love.

It finally entered Kicker's mind that they probably should have left already. "Misha…"

"Mm?" she asked, not quite ready to let go yet.

Kicker was all ready to leave, but the feel of her lips moving against his… god, it was intoxicating…

Finally, with a regretful sigh, Misha broke it off quickly, her face flushed. She gazed into Kicker's eyes, reading what emotions lay there. She then closed her eyes, and stood up. Kicker joined her a few seconds after, saying nothing. As the minutes passed, Kicker got nervous. "Maybe that was a mistake…" he thought sadly. As if she heard his thoughts, Misha turned around, and wrapped her arms around the young man, pulling him into another embrace. Kicker was stunned, but wrapped his arms around her. He realized he could feel everything… the sensation of holding her, the smell of her hair, the beat of her heart… He sighed wistfully, as he realized that this was hardly the time or place. Night was setting in. and they had to get back to Ocean City soon. "Misha-"

"I know… do we have to?" she asked sadly. Kicker had to try not to smile at that.

"Yeah… too bad, huh?" he said, a tinge of regret in his voice. Despite this, neither of them moved, content to stand there holding each other, their eyes locked on the crimson sun vanishing beneath the horizon. Kicker felt Misha grasp his hand lovingly, and he threaded his fingers through hers in response.

Duty could wait. War could wait. Even love could wait. All they had with them was the moment – and for that single instant in time, it was all they needed.

Sappy? I know, but I felt Kicker and Misha needed at least one fic to their pairing. Anyway, please R&R guys!