So this is an early Christmas present for you guys! Hope you enjoy! :)
Miko hopped out of Bulkhead while humming a cheery tune happily. Jack and Rafael also seemed to be in a good mood at the time. The Autobots wondered what had caused them to act like that. Well the guardians and Optimus did, Ratchet thought it was quite annoying. What got everyone, however, was the fact that Miko was wearing a red and white pointy hat. The guardians transformed and Arcee crossed her arms.
"So what's got you all in a good mood? And what's with the hat Miko?" Arcee asked. The children gave them a look that said "really?" The guardians became more confused. Was this something important that they should know about? Or are they just messing with them? Ratchet grumbled under his breath about child's play.
"You guys seriously never heard of Christmas?" Miko asked, throwing her hands up in the air. The Autobots shook their head. "It's like the best earth holiday ever! You guys have been here for who knows how long and no one's told you about Christmas? Did you not notice the decorations and lights all over Jasper?"
"What use do we have for ridiculous human traditions?" Ratchet scoffed. The humans glared at the medic. Even Optimus shot him a warning look. He was naturally curious to learn about their current planet's traditions. It might help bring the guardians closer to their charges. Ratchet might even loosen up a little with them.
"What's Christmas about?" Bulkhead asked. Jack, Miko, and Raf dove into the explanation of Christmas. The presents, Santa Claus, trees, decorations, the story of baby Jesus, and even some carols were sung. The Autobots, even Ratchet, were now fully interested in the holiday. They didn't really understand the baby Jesus part but that was expected.
"It's basically the season of giving. It's a day for family and friends." Jack finished with a warm smile. "When I still visited my mom's family on Christmas we'd always write down what we really wish for and put it in a hat. Someone would draw the wish and try and get the present. We'd do the drawing two weeks before hand so they would have time. We wouldn't know who wished for what so it was always enlightening."
"Hey! We should totally do that here!" Miko exclaimed while jumping up and down. "After we get down being with our families, or host family in my case, we can come here and do the gift exchange! Jack's mom and Fowler can come too if they want! It might be a little hard to get something for the bots but it'd be worth it! Please? Please? Please?"
"I see no reason why not." Optimus said. The children cheered as Ratchet rolled his optics. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bee took the children to get decorations for the base. Everyone agreed on not having a Christmas tree, it'd be a huge mess of pine needles. But Miko did buy a miniature fake tree that went up to her knee. When they got back to the base everyone decorated while still on the lookout for Decepticons or energon activity. Even Fowler showed up to help prepare. Finally Jack came out with an armful of paper.
"Okay so guys you might want to use your holoforms to write it down. So basically write down the thing you want the most, preferably nothing to do with the war. It's supposed to get away from it, okay?" Jack instructed. Everyone nodded and the Autobots activated their holoforms. The humans had to do a double take when they saw the bots.
Optimus was a man in his early to mid-30s with short choppy black hair. He wore blue jeans, black combat boot, and a red t-shirt. Ratchet was a man in his 50s with short black-graying hair. He wore khaki pants with a white t-shirt. Bulkhead looked about 25 with a dark brown buzz cut. He wore army camo and black combat boots. Arcee looked about Jack's age. Her long light brown hair, with a pink streak, was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a black skirt that went to her knees, a purple shirt, and a pair of flats. Bee, surprisingly, looked a little older than Raf. He had blonde shaggy hair with black bangs. He wore a pair of sneakers, dark jeans, and a yellow shirt. Everyone seemed strong, especially the older mechs.
"Wow you guys look awesome! But quick question…Bee, are you really that young?" Raf asked worriedly. Bee looked down and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Everyone seemed a little hesitant to answer the question. Even Optimus felt uncomfortable with it. Bee finally looked back over at his charge.
"In human terms I'm only about 13." He admitted. The humans gasped for more than one reason. He actually spoke English! The humans other than Raf could finally understand him without a translation! But his voice also sounded young. "Uh yeah, in holoform I can talk. I was born during the war so this is all I've ever known."
"Wow…" Raf whispered. He couldn't believe he was about the same age as his guardian. No wonder they got along so well. To ease the tension Jack passed out the paper and pens so everyone could write down their wish. He couldn't help but notice how hesitant Arcee was to write her wish down. He wondered what hers was, but didn't ask so he wouldn't break tradition. Miko took off her Santa hat and collected the folded papers after everyone finished.
"Okay now let's draw our wishes! If you get your own switch it for another one!" Miko exclaimed. She grabbed one before going around for everyone to pick theirs out. Jack opened his paper and silently read it. His heart sunk at what was written. It was obviously one of the Autobots', but he couldn't tell who. It read:
I only want more thing than anything else in the universe…well two to be exact. In the early stages of the war I was separated from my sisters, Elita One and Chromia. If one of the Autobots is reading this then you know who this belongs to. If it's not too much to ask, I want to be able to somehow at least talk to them again. Our sibling bond is still there so I know they're alive. If you can't, then I understand. You don't have to get me anything.
"Come on guys, it's time to go home." Arcee's voice snapped Jack out of his thoughts. He left with her to go home. The wish really bugged him, especially since he didn't know whose it was. None of the bots told him about having sisters. One more problem: how was he supposed to get in contact with Elita One and Chromia? Maybe he should talk to Ratchet, it didn't seem like it'd be him who wrote the note.
The next day the Autobots were sent on a mission so the humans were alone with Ratchet. Miko and Raf were playing video games and Ratchet was merely watching the monitor. Jack walked up to the railing, hoping that he can get the grumpy medic to help him. If not then he'd be completely lost on how to find the two bots.
"Hey Ratchet, do you know two bots named Elita One and Chromia?" Jack asked, only loud enough for said mech to hear. Ratchet froze and stopped what he was doing to turn to the young boy. Jack took that as a yes and continued. "The wish I got said that they wanted to see their sisters Elita One and Chromia again. I have no idea how to get in contact with them and I could really use the help."
"I won't tell you who wrote the letter, but yes I know those two femmes. They're a couple of great Autobot warriors. It's no wonder the person wants to see them again. I'll work on getting into contact with them. Don't bring this up or even the names to anyone." Ratchet stated. Jack smiled, happy to hear that Ratchet would help him.
**Christmas Morning**
Everything was ready. Presents were under the tiny tree and each person had their secret gift next to them…except Jack. The Autobots reactivated their holoforms, but they all wore regular jeans and even had Christmas sweaters on. Ratchet had drawn Miko's wish and had made her a hover-board/skateboard. She could use they skateboard when around humans that didn't know the secret and the hover-board for whenever else. Miko was so happy she even tackled Ratchet in a hug. Arcee had Bee and she got him a radio, which Ratchet would need to install later, so he could communicate through radio clippings. Bee thanked her about a million times before they moved on.
"Uh so the person I drew said they didn't need anything, they just wanted everyone to be happy. I had an idea who it was. Optimus…were you the one who asked that?" Bee asked when it was his turn. Optimus smiled and nodded. Bee suddenly deactivated his holoform and transformed. He took something out of his subspace and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't know what else to get you but…here."
"Wow…" was all Optimus could say once he transformed and looked at what Bee had given him. It was a picture of the entire team, looking happy and with the children. Bee always thought of Optimus as a father figure, especially after his sparkparents were offline during the war. "Thank you Bumblebee."
"My turn!" Miko exclaimed. She had drawn Fowler and had gotten him an American Flag tie. Her excuse for not getting him something else was that she didn't know where to look for it. She never mentioned what it was he wanted. But Fowler was happy anyways. He had gotten June's name and gave her flowers, creeping out Jack a little. June had gotten Bulkhead an Autobot insignia…but it was different than just metal. It was actually stitched onto a piece of velvet and was soft to touch. Bulkhead thanked her and said it was awesome. Bulkhead had gotten Ratchet wrenches since he couldn't read the medic's handwriting. A couple of people snickered at that but Ratchet was still thankful. Optimus had pulled Raf's name and gave him a new laptop, there was a Word document open that said "Merry Christmas". Raf had pulled Jack's name and knew exactly what to do. Jack and Miko were sitting next to each other when Fowler and June started snickering. "What?"
"You and Jack are under the mistletoe!" June pointed out. Their heads snapped up and sure enough there was Raf, holding up mistletoe. Jack blushed a bright red and looked away from everyone as Fowler explained to the bots the significance of the mistletoe. Miko grabbed Jack gently by the shoulders and kissed him on the lips. "What did you put as your wish, Jack?"
"He wanted to have his first Christmas kiss under the mistletoe with Miko." Raf accused. Jack blushed a beet red at the smirks and snickers given to him. Miko shifted uncomfortably but stared at him in shock. She actually was blushing too at this point much to everyone's amusement. "Okay well this can be sorted out later. Right now, Jack has to give his present to the last person without a present: Arcee."
"Wow…talk about ironic. Uh so I actually had a lot of help from Ratchet with this. I thought I wouldn't be able to get your present in time but I did. Elita One, Chromia, you can come out now." Jack called out. Arcee's holoform fizzled away and she transformed as her sisters came out from hiding down the hall. "For those of you who don't know, Elita One and Chromia are Arcee's sisters."
"Elita! Chromia!" Arcee exclaimed as she tackled her sisters in a hug. She was merely hoping to talk to them over a comm. link, she didn't expect them to actually be here. She actually started crying she was so happy about this. She finally turned to see Optimus, in bipedal form, staring at Elita in shock. "Thank you so much, Jack. But you've reunited more than one family today."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. When Elita ran up and hugged Optimus he got his answer. Ratchet was the only one of the group standing by who wasn't confused. He knew about Optimus and Elita's relationship. The remaining Autobots transformed and welcomed the new bots. Elita and Chromia told them about their travels and Ironhide, Chromia's sparkmate. They also found out that Elita was Optimus' sparkmate. They spent the rest of Christmas Day drinking hot chocolate/energon and watching Christmas specials. "Merry Christmas, guys."
"Merry Christmas." They all answered.
Okay I know I threw a few pairings in there but I just HAD to I'm sorry!
So tell me what you think!
Have a merry Christmas!