A/N- Set before Chapter 14 of TheSarcasticKnight's story Small Fry. Sorry it took so long to post!
I don't own anything, except for my two OC's and (part of) the plot.
Winter in Alabama varied. One day it was cold, another it was as though summer decided to over throw winter. Today happened to be different.
"Snow Day!"
Aj glanced up in amusement at the twins 'OMG it snowed' expressions. A small chuckle escaped her lips as Peter joined in the excitement.
The bots (and cons) were not so sure.
Skywarp poked at the window as he stared at the frost that decorated it. "What's this?" Thundercarcker groaned as his purple trine mate continued to poke at it.
"Aj," said woman turned her head to face the speaker. Sideswipe stood on the sill, an expression of uncertainty on his face. "... what is this stuff."
Aj opened her mouth to answer, but Taylor beat her to the punch. "It's called snow Sides'. It comes when it's cold out."
"And it keeps us from going to school." Tyler added.
Optimus, who was standing coffee table, glanced up from where he was talking to Prowl. "Why would it do that, Tyler?"
Aj decided to butt in. "When snow falls OP, it can pile up high enough to make roads useless and stop people from driving places."
This time, Prowl asked his own question. "How does snow fall from the sky without destroying most of your home? If it piles up, should it not be heavy?"
Poor Prowl looked like he was going to glitch from the un-logical way Aj had worded it.
Peter glanced back from where he was standing at the window. Peter then quickly started to explain why snow did not do certain things and why it did do certain things. Aj soon lost interest in the conversation, and decided to make herself a cup of coffee to wake her up. Of course, the bots needed some to.
She had already made breakfast for the kids, and now, while the coffee boiled, she waited for the kids to get dressed. It did not take long for the familiar thumping sound of Taylor, Tyler and Peter rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen. When the twins and Peter spotted the pancakes, they immediately dove in.
"This is delicious Aj!" Taylor said, with a mouth full of pancake. Tyler nodded eagerly in agreement, syrup dripping down his face.
Thank Primus for that online recipe! Aj thought with relief as she began wiping Tyler's face with a wet cloth.
Peter quietly finished his pancakes off, giving a small "Thank you". Placing the dishes in the sink, he raced up the stairs to his room, knowing what would come next.
He did not have to wait long.
The twins quickly finished up their pancakes, and while Aj was dealing with the dishes, they shared twin mischievous glances. Before you could say 'Roll out', Taylor and Tyler snatched up Bumblebee and Bluestreak and raced up the stairs and into their room, crying "SNOOOOOOOOW DAAAAAAY YAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
In their wake they left a room full of bewildered mechs.
Prowl stared for a minute, then crashed.
Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp stared.
Megatron, Optimus, Ratchet (who happened to have been down for when they refuelled), and Soundwave followed suit.
Sunstreaker and Barricade were oblivious.
Sideswipe sorted.
And Jazz, well, he just had a big, goofy grin on his face.
Anyone else was either outside (which meant no one), or somewhere else in the house.
Aj stared for a sec at where the twins had just been, and looked over at the bitty bots.
"Snirk!"
Holding a hand over her mouth, Aj turned away, trying (and failing) not to laugh. Well, at least no one was hurt. Hopefully...
When Peter, Taylor and Tyler came back down, they were wearing sweaters and track pants. As well as a bunch of other clothes underneath. Both Bumblebee and Bluestreak were still confused.
What in the name of Primus had just happened?! The two thought.
The bots who had been downstairs had shaken off their shock already (or in Prowl's case, rebooted). Other than that, they went on as if nothing had happened. Or until the children rushed past them with coats, boots, and snow pants.
Optimus, being slightly curious, decided to ask what was on everybots mind. He walked over to Aj, who was at the moment trying to get Taylor's coat on, and tugged on her pant leg. Aj, startled at the sudden pull, turned her head only to see Optimus standing there patiently.
"What do you need OP?"
Sighing at the nickname, Optimus looked at the scene behind Aj, before asking, "Aj, what are you and the children doing?"
Aj blinked at the simple question, before she barked out a laugh. The children looked at Optimus as though he had two heads.
"It's called dressing warm. Since it's a snow day, the kids are heading outside to play in the snow. It's what kids normally do when it snows and there's no school."
Optimus blinked. "I do not fully understand what you mean, Aj?"
Aj let out another spurt of laughter.
"Peter, please explain to Optimus why we should dress warm, because two certain twins need to be fully dressed before they can go outside."
The twins froze as they realized that they had been spotted. Busted.
While Peter explained to Optimus why humans needed to dress warm when it snowed, Aj dealt with the human twins.
Aj smiled as she watched the children and bots play in the backyard. The snow was two feet in height, and steadily growing higher as it continued to snow.
Feeling a tug on her pant leg, Aj looked down, and raised an eyebrow at Soundwave. The cassette bot looked up at her, visor and mask showing no emotion.
Still confused, Aj asked the con "What is it Soundwave?"
"There is an organic female at the front door." He said in his monotone voice.
Aj blinked, then sighed.
"Hello?"
Aj stared up at the towering young woman standing on the front porch.
The woman was about six foot, with long blonde-brown hair pulled into a loose braid. She was wearing a light blue Columbia jacket with boot-cut jeans and grey boots. Her arctic blue eyes seemed to glow. On her head was a dark blue baseball cap. Her skin was caucasian, and she had a lean build.
She had a large black suitcase on her left, and an equally large white husky with sky blue eyes on her right.
"Can I help you?" Aj asked.
The woman nodded, "Can you please tell me where this address is?"
The woman's voice was young, so Aj guessed that she was about eighteen. She held up a piece of paper, with an address scribbled on it. Aj looked at the address, and frowned.
"I'm sorry," Aj started, "but this address doesn't exist as far as I know."
The woman slumped. "Great…" she groaned, "I'm sent all the way from Chicago to a city in Alabama only to find out that this address doesn't exist." The husky whined. "And me and my dog have to trudge through this snow to find a pet friendly hotel. And my flight back isn't until tomorrow. Great."
The woman had muttered this mostly to herself, but Aj had heard every word.
Aj sighed, knowing that she was probably going to get chewed out later for this. "You can stay here for the night."
The woman looked up surprised, and immediately tried to deny the offer. "No! You don't have to! Really!"
Aj only chuckled. "It's okay. You need a place to stay and since you're already here, you might as well stay Miss…" Aj trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.
The woman chuckled. "Emma McFord. And this is my friend Max."
The husky barked at his name.
"…Miss McFord." Aj finished. The woman laughed.
"Please, call me Emma. I'm way to young to be called Miss." The woman, Emma, laughed as she held out her hand to shake.
Unbeknownst to Aj as the two women shook hands, a small, red muzzle pushed though a gap in the suitcases' zipper. Emma's arctic blue eyes widened slightly, and she shoved the muzzle back in. She plastered a small smile on her face, still chuckling.
Aj also laughed, and opened the door wider, allowing the two to enter.
Sure enough, Aj was chewed out by Optimus, Ratchet and Prowl. In the meantime, the woman, Emma, and her dog Max, had made fast friends with the children, and were playing outside at the moment.
"Again!" Taylor laughed as she was set in the sled. Said sled was tied to Max, who waited for the signal.
"Ikimasu!"
With the foreign cry, the husky raced off, pulling a squealing Taylor behind him. Emma laughed as Max raced all over the yard. The various transformer toys (as far as Emma knew) had been moved into the house.
Emma watched as Max ran all over the large backyard, laughing when Taylor would squeal with glee. Tyler bounced in spot beside the tall woman, eagerly awaiting his turn. Peter stood to the side. Though he was unsure about the woman, she so far had shown that she wouldn't hurt a fly.
While the fun was happening outside, inside the house was a different story.
"Aj, are you positive that this woman is safe?" Optimus inquired, worry evident on his face.
Aj sighed again, sending a small glare at the equally small bot. "Yes. She is fine."
There was the sound of the back door opening, and the gathered bots all stiffened. Emma walked in, closing the door behind her. The woman smiled at Aj as she slipped her coat off, followed by her hat.
Aj chuckled at the snow that dripped from Emma's hair. A bit plopped down her cheek, and both women laughed.
"Thank you again Aj." Emma said, pulling off her boots. "I seriously don't know what I would have done."
Aj waved it off. "It was the least I could do. Besides, it was getting kinda boring without having someone around my age to talk to."
Emma laughed. "Seriously though, I had no freakin' idea what I would have done."
Aj waved it off. "I would have felt bad leaving you out there. Besides, it's no big deal."
Emma smiled, and noticed the open laptop, pan, bread and cheese all set out. "You making grill cheese for dinner?"
Aj gave a nervous chuckle. "More like trying to figure out how to make it." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
Emma laughed. It wasn't malicious sounding, so a small smiled flittered onto Aj's face. "Here, let me show you."
Five minutes later, five cheese sandwiches were grilling on the stove. The two women had started a light conversation, the sounds of the children laughing as they played filling the background.
"So let me get this straight. You threw a snowball at your friend, who happened to be a cop, after she pulled you over?!"
Emma laughed. "The look on Alana's face was totally worth it! Even as she wrote me a nasty ticket!"
Aj only roared with laughter. "I would never do that! Girl, you've either got guts, or you're crazy!"
Emma snorted. "With me, probably both!"
The two women shared a laugh. Emma noticed the transformers toys. "You guys got transformers?"
Aj's eyes widened, suddenly remembering the bots. "Well- uh…! You see-!"
Emma laughed, waving it off. "It's alright! I ain't gonna tease you or anything. Honestly, I love the series."
Aj raised a surprised brow. "Seriously?"
Emma only chuckled. "Seriously. They were actually my favourite show when I was a kid."
Aj smiled. "Honestly, the kids are the fans. I just happen to be the clueless aunt."
The eighteen year old roared with laughter, bending over slightly. When Emma had finally stopped laughing, Aj had turned of the oven, and was placing the sandwiches on plates. Without a word, Emma found and pulled glasses from the cupboards, as well as the milk from the fridge. Aj set the plates down at their spots, leaving to get the kids.
Just as Aj finished helping the twins and Peter out of their snow gear, a crash sounded from the living room. Emma, who had been drying off Max, snapped her head up at the sound. "What was that?!"
Aj began to panic. "Uh… probably the softball bat?" Emma's arctic blue eyes narrowed slightly. "If probably just fell over from the vibrations, that's all."
Emma still got up, though she seemed… worried. Please not have been my suitcase…
The two women poked their heads in the living room, both praying to whatever-high-being-above that it had been something minor.
The two could not have been more wrong.
Aj's eyes widened. "What the frag is that?!"
Oh shit…! Emma mentally screamed.
"What the frag is that?!"
A small, red bio-mechanical creature lay eagle-style in the centre of the room. Emma's black suitcase was tipped over, but instead of clothes spilling out it, another bio-mechanical creature sat curled inside, a purple sweater draped over its head. While the red creature recovered from its apparent tumble, the other one, coloured white, tried to blend in with the suitcase.
"Oh shit…!" Emma cried out under her breath, racing forward. "Vakama!"
The red creature, Vakama, let out a startled squeak as Emma scooped it up. Vakama was the size of a small kitten, so Emma could easily hold it.
Max squeezed into the room then, and made his way over to the suitcase. The husky poked his nose in, whining at the white creature. The creature chittered quietly, but allowed itself to be pulled out.
"Whoa…" Aj turned, and saw Taylor standing behind her, with Tyler and Peter right next to her.
Emma looked up, a dismayed look on her face. "If you want to kick us out, do so."
Aj blinked, then vigorously shook her head. "No no nononono! It's fine! Really!"
Emma sighed. "Then I guess I owe you an explanation, don't I?"
"So you just found them on the street, and took them in?" Aj summarized.
Emma shrugged. "Pretty much."
Aj leaned back, and draped her arm over her eyes. "Wow… just wow…"
Emma fidgeted slightly in her spot as the family stared at her shock. A movement that was difficult due to Vakama, the red creature, being curled up in her lap like a cat. Nuju, the white creature, was once again hiding in her suitcase with Max sitting protectively in front of it. The explanations had waited until after dinner, so now everyone was sitting in the living room.
Taylor, Tyler and Peter were sitting on a different couch then the two older females, each clutching some of the toys. Taylor clung to Bumblebee, Tyler had Bluestreak and Jazz, and Peter held onto Prowl. Aj had the Optimus Prime toy in her lap, as well as Ratchet. The other toys were scattered throughout the house.
Aj sighed as she sat up, and opened her mouth to say something, when Vakama went very very still. The entire room paused as the Hordika's orange-slit eyes narrowed, and he shifted into a crouch. Before anything could be done, he pounced.
"AHHH! NonoNONONONONONOOO!"
Emma jumped at the girlish squeal, and stared as one of the toys, Skywarp, took off across the room with Vakama hot on his tail. Emma blinked, then turned to the suddenly innocent family. "Do I even want to know how your toys are alive?"
Aj winced.
After explanations were exchanged, and Skywarp was saved from being a chew toy, it was decided that it was best that they kept each other's secrets, well, secrets. The children were tucked in, and their respective bots were keeping an optic on them. The bots and cons had retreated to their separate bases for the night, neither side wanting to be hunted by the Hordika cubs.
That left the two young women sitting in the living room. Emma had steeped some tea, and both were enjoying the peaceful silence. Across the room, Max lay curled up on his side, with Vakama and Nuju snuggled up against his belly.
"So…" Emma turned her head as Aj started to speak. "Why are you really here?"
Emma sighed, shoulders slumping as she set her tea down. "A friend of mine, Rebecca, detected as strange energy surge from this location a couple of months ago. We waited to see if anything would happen, and two weeks ago we detected a second energy surge. Me and my friends decided to wait until winter break before I went down.
"Hannah came up with the whole address and flight thing. Though we never planned for it to snow like this."
Aj nodded in understanding. "So what are you going to tell your friends?"
Emma sighed. "I'll just tell them the truth."
When Aj started to go ridged, Emma immediately waved her hands in a 'hold on' way. "Woah! You don't have to worry! My friends and I know how to keep a secret!" Seeing that Aj was starting to relax, Emma continued. "You know our secret now to, so one of us spilling your secret would only have ours spilled. You don't have to worry."
Aj sank into the couch, any worries she had dissipating. Emma smiled in understanding, before taking a glance at the clock.
"You should go to your bed now, it's after midnight." Emma suggested.
Aj nodded, to tired to say anything against it as she yawned. She stood up and headed for the stairs. "Night."
Emma smiled back. "Night."
When Aj came down the next morning, about 7 am, the couch was vacant. Blinking tiredly, the young woman slowly realized that Emma's suitcase was gone. The blanket she had used was folded neatly, along with the blanket Max and the Hordika cubs had been lying on.
Walking into the front entryway, Aj saw that Emma's outdoor gear was missing. In her jackets place was a note.
Aj
Thanks for letting us stay overnight. Sorry to disappear so early, but my flight was rescheduled for 6 am. I got the notification at 5, so I had no time to say goodbye. Tell the kids that I'll try to visit if I can.
-Em
PS- Don't worry, I only locked the bottom lock. I don't have a key.
Aj smiled.