Hey everyone! First of all, thank you everyone who's faved, followed, read and reviewed so far! I'm so happy you guy's are liking the fic so far, and I hope you will all continue to let me know your thoughts on the story, and share any ideas for future chapters that you may have!
I wanted to let you all know that, when the story moves to a point of view that follows Cole, there will be no visual descriptions because Cole is, well, blind. I just wanted to let you all know that so there's no confusion!
Sorry for any spelling errors, my 'B' button is still sticky -_-"
Disclaimer on my prof.!
Enjoy and please review!
Mirage sighed, relaxing in the seat he had taken in the rec. room of the base. He felt...Restless. Yes, that was an accurate description. He felt restless.
It had been three days since he'd met the little human adolescent, Cole. And ever since that rainy evening, he found his processor continued to wander back to the boy for reasons unknown. The boy had been so small for his age, his skin so pale that he'd almost seemed so much more frail than most other humans. It was almost disconcerting.
"'Ey mech, ya've been sittin' here all quiet for almost an hour! What gives?"
Mirage jumped slightly, optics snapping up. He was greeted by the wide, relaxed grin of Jazz. Mirage watched as the short mech sidled over to the seat on the other side of the table and dropped down into it.
"So, what's on your processor?" The visored mech questioned, relaxing in the bench seat and slinging his arms over the back of his seat.
"Its nothing." Mirage replied, but he didn't sound so sure of that himself. Jazz raised a brow.
"Y'know I can read ya like a datapad, mech. C'mon, ya know ya can trust me. Wassup?"
Mirage hesitated, gaze flickering away for a moment. Then he sighed.
"I'm just thinking, thats all. Nothing is wrong, I just met a human the other day who I quite liked speaking with."
Jazz looked first surprised, then interested.
"Really? Must'a been quite th' human, ya usually give humans a wide berth, yeah?"
Mirage frowned, shifting uncomfortably.
"You make it sound as if I dislike humans." He huffed.
"Nah, nah mech! I know ya jus' ain't use ta interactin' with humans!" Jazz reassured. "Jus' makin' a comment on how odd it is for ya ta talk ta a human. Ya have a hard 'nough time talkin' ta almost half th' 'bots 'round here."
Mirage grimaced.
"You like to make me feel like a fool, don't you?"
Jazz chuckled.
"Jus' statin' th' facts is all. So, who's this guy ya talked to?"
Mirage paused, wondering if it was truly alright to disclose Cole's name and information with someone the boy didn't know himself. But he'd worked alongside Jazz for vorns. On the field they would work together on Special Ops. missions and in the base, they were good friends, often sharing a cube of energon in the rec. room or just talking in the halls.
"His...His name is Cole. He's a youngling, no more than fifteen if I had to guess." Mirage's optics softened. "He didn't act like most teenagers do around us Autobots. He didn't try to make himself seem impressive to try and gain a compliment from a 'famed Autobot', and he didn't pester me for an autograph. He just...He treated me normal. Like I was a fellow human almost."
Jazz's metal brows raised.
"S'that so? Not often ya find a kid who doesn't worship us."
Mirage nodded.
"Yes." He agreed. He then added to himself, under his breath, "Then again, he didn't quite know I was a Cybertronian at first..."
Jazz's audios, sharp as ever, caught the murmur.
"Eh? How could he not tell your a 'bot? I mean, your a giant robotic alien, there ain't much room for misunderstandin'."
Mirage sighed, running a hand over his helm tiredly.
"Well, you see...He...well..." Mentally berating himself, Mirage forced himself to speak clearly. "He is blind."
"Ah..." Jazz hummed, still looking completely at ease. "Ya sound like ya don't know what t' think 'bout that."
"I just...It was strange. I don't know how to speak with someone who is blind-" He paused as Jazz raised a brow and tilted his visor down to reveal glossy, unseeing optics, and Mirage frowned. "You do not count. Just because your optic wiring is dead does not mean you cannot see, your visor's uplink to your processor allows you to make out shapes and such. I mean someone who is truly blind without the ability to see anything at all. I am unsure how to speak to someone who is blind without offending them. Yet with the boy, Cole, I found conversation came easily."
"Sounds t' me ya made yourself a friend." Jazz chuckled. "So whats got ya thinkin' so hard 'bout him?"
Mirage grimaced, crossing his arms over his chassis.
"I...I don't know. I suppose I just...find it odd how well I got along with him. Back on Cybertron, I was never any good with younglings-"
"Ya've changed a lot since then." Jazz pointed out. "Back on Cybertron ya got stuck in one of those stuffy noble manors, yeah? But ever since ya joined th' 'bots, ya've changed quite a bit. I wouldn' be surprised if tha' kid ya met realized what a great mech ya are."
Mirage frowned.
"We only spoke for an hour or two, there is no way he could've gotten to know me well enough to make such an assumption-"
"Mech," Jazz interrupted, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table between them as he peered over the top of his visor with sightless optics. "People who can't see have more than enough time t' enhance every other sense they've got. Take me for example. 'Fore I got this visor, I couldn' see a fraggin' thing, right? I was 'bout thirteen vorns old when I finally got it. By then, I could hear better than any mech, an' I was pretty good at readin' people just by their voice an' their personality. Its what makes me so good at my job. An' from what your sayin', it sounds like this kid's able t' do th' same thing." A softer smile as Jazz reclined back once more. "It doesn' take long t' map out a person, 'r at least t' get a good grasp on what a person's about. This kid can prob'ly tell yer a good guy. When a kid's talkin' t' someone they consider as a good guy, they tend t' open up. No need t' be so surprised."
"I know, I just...I'm not used to that. To someone talking to me without at least one smart comment about my, well..."
"Upbringin'?" Jazz offered. Mirage nodded.
"Yes."
"Well he doesn' know ya were a noble-born. An' from what it sounds like? This kid wouldn' really care either way. So," Jazz smiled mischievously. "Ya think ya might go visit th' kid again? Sounds like ya enjoy his company..."
Mirage squirmed a bit.
"I...Don't know. I don't want him to think I'm following him or anything of the sort, it would only scare him."
Jazz waved a servo dismissively.
"Ya patrol th' city, mech. Nothin' wrong with jus' casually 'bumping into him' on one of yer patrols, right?" Mirage sent his friend a dry look, despite knowing that Jazz couldn't make out facial expressions. Jazz stood, moving around the table and pausing beside Mirage to pat him on the shoulder. "If your spendin' this much time thinkin' 'bout th' kid, I think tha's a good sign ya wanna be his friend. An' I think it'd be good for ya t' make a human friend, ya could do with practice when it comes t' talkin' with humans anyway. See ya later, mech."
"Goodbye." Mirage replied, watching as the short mech sauntered off.
For such an easy-going mech, Jazz was much smarter than he seemed.
Cole winced, his leg aching in protest as he walked down the hall towards the front doors of the school. He wondered, absently, how long it would take for his leg to heal this time...
After counting thirty-two steps, the exact number he knew it took to reach the doors, he reached forward. After a split second of feeling around, he found the bar handle and pushed the door open. There was a rush of warm air, and Cole smiled at the gentle breeze that blew past. It was nice, compared to the stuffy school...
Carefully making his way down the front steps, Cole made a ninety degree right turn and started down the sidewalk. He wondered where he should go today. Maybe the library, or he could just sit on the swings at the park at the elementary school next door, he'd always liked the swing set-
A strangled gasp left Cole when a pair of hands roughly shoved him. He nearly fell, but after a moment of tripping about he managed to catch his balance. He could hear laughter, and recognized the voices: Weston and his group of cronies. Bullies to the bone and sporting a collective I.Q of fifteen, they made a sport of bullying Cole.
"Well look who we have here!" Weston jeered. "You lost, bright eyes?"
Cole frowned, fingers tightening around his cane.
"C'mon, just leave me alone!" He implored.
"Ah, but what's the fun in that?" Another shove sent Cole reeling, and he tripped into the grassy quad that served as the frontal landscape of the school. "Aw, did'ja trip, bright eyes? What, didn't see the grass?"
Weston's cronies laughed boisterously, and Cole didn't attempt to rise to his feet, knowing he'd just be shoved down again. It would be best to just let them tease him a little so they'd get bored quickly and leave him be.
"You need some help getting up? Huh?"
Cole struggled as a hand grabbed him by the collar and hefted him up.
"L-let go of me!" Cole demanded. "Leave me alone!"
More laughter and jeering-
"Put him down!"
The sudden interjection of the decidedly adult voice made Weston immediately drop Cole. The dark-haired teen tripped over his feet and nearly fell, but a large, warm hand took hold of his arm and steadied him. A familiar voice spoke to him quietly.
"Are you alright?"
"M-...Mirage?"
"Yes. Now tell me, did these fools hurt you?"
Cole hesitantly shook his head.
"No. No, I'm...I'm okay."
There was a bit of movement, a shift of Mirage's hand position on his arm that made Cole aware that Mirage had turned to face Weston and his groupies.
"You little fools, what did you think you were doing?!" Mirage demanded. "Harassing someone who is blind, is that your idea of fun?"
The sharp hiss in which Mirage spoke the last word made even Cole flinch.
"N-no! No man, you've got it wrong! H-he started it-!"
"Don't even try to mislead me, you little fool!" Mirage snapped. "I know what I saw! Now, go home, all of you! And you would do best to avoid doing this again, or your parents will be getting a call from an Autobot, and I'm sure that you all wouldn't want that, would you?"
There was a pause, then stammered apologies and running footsteps. Cole could hardly believe that Mirage would use his status as one of the famous war-hero Autobots to protect him. Him!
For a moment there was silence, neither Cole or Mirage speaking. Finally, though, Cole found his voice.
"Th-...Thanks."
Mirage sighed.
"What were those little fools even thinking?" Mirage asked, voice hard. But then his tone softened. "Are you sure you are alright?"
Cole nodded shakily.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm used to it. I'm okay."
"You shouldn't be." Mirage stated, and Cole could all but hear him frowning.
"So...Why are you here?" Cole asked suddenly. He felt his cheeks warm up with a blush as he realized how rude he must sound, and he quickly added, "Not that I'm not happy to get the chance to talk again! I just don't understand-"
"I was on patrol." Mirage interjected. "It was pure luck that I was passing through and saw those fools harassing you."
Cole raised a brow. Over the years he'd learned to hear the undertones in a person's voice that could reveal a person's emotions and, to an extent, if they were being truthful. A slight smile curled at his lips.
"Liar." He declared. "Admit it: you like talking."
A hum.
"Perhaps. But I believe you enjoyed our last conversation too, yes?"
Cole nodded.
"Yeah. You're...probably the first person I've ever been able to consider a friend...sorta. I mean, we've only met once, but you're really nice."
Mirage chuckled.
"I'm glad I made such a good first impression." The mech's holoform (for that was the only explanation for the human hands one Cole's arms mixed with the Autobot's voice) gently dusted Cole off. "You know, if those fools did hurt you, you can tell me..."
Cole frowned.
"I told you they didn't."
"Cole, you have a bruise on your cheek."
Cole froze for a moment, face falling. It took him a moment to recompose himself.
"O-oh, that? I-I just ran into a wall corner, that's all!"
There was a moment in which Mirage didn't speak. Cole became nervous, wondering what else he could say-
"Very well." Mirage hesitantly asked, "I know this is short notice, but would you like to, as you youngling's call it, "hang out"? I would enjoy some company, if you wouldn't mind providing some conversation..?"
Cole beamed.
"Of course!" Any embarrassment at his own over-enthusiasm was overthrown by his excitement at the prospect of being able to talk with Mirage again. "Tha-That'd be great! I don't have to be home until seven-thirty, so I have plenty of time!"
Mirage chuckled, and Cole was grateful when he took hold of the holoform's arm and Mirage obligingly led him to the road without protest.
"Alright then. What should we talk about today? Do you feel up to another battle story?"