The instructions his mother had given him were simple:
Pack your bags and get on a plane to the United States
Head to Jasper, Nevada, 'Entertainment Capital of the World'
Find yourself lodging for the night
Head into the desert on April 25, and go to mile marker 25
Jackson Darby and Rafael Esquivel will explain the rest.
But who was this Darby? Or Esquivel? Haru didn't know, and when he pressed his mother, Miko only told him that the two other men were friends. And as Haru sat back in his plane seat, he could feel his apprehension grow. This trip was insane! A hallucination created from a medicated mind! And yet, here he was, flying over the Pacific Ocean trying to get to America. He was either a very caring son, or crazy himself.
Either way, he was still crossing the sea.
"I want you to know my world, Haru. The stories I could never tell you, Jack and Raf will tell in my place. There are things about this universe I want you to know," his mother had told him before he left, and the words whispered in his head over and over. What did his mother mean? What was he supposed to know?
Growing up with a mom who managed some of Japan's top bands had been crazy from the get go. His mother Miko was always busy, Haru wasn't even sure when his mom had time to sleep at times, but she always had time for her two sons, Haru and Souta. His brother hadn't known how to handle their mother's infliction, and Haru was usually the one to visit Miko. Haru only hoped Souta would realize just how important their mom was before it was to late...
When Haru thought back, he could remember times with his mom behind the scenes at some concert, times he would get to meet the band, times his mother would teach him to rock out to American punk bands, how to avoid the police force in case something 'unfortunate' should occur, *cough* *cough* crazy mother *ahem*, and the times he would sit in his mother's office and watch her calculate the numbers in regards to each band's tour expenses. Haru had come to accept his mother's quirks over the years, and so it was with reluctance he was even going. But, every now and then when his mother was staring up at the sky, Haru could have sworn she said something along the lines of 'miss you, Bulk.' There were mysteries surrounding his mother, Haru knew that, and now Haru was sure he was going to find out.
~(0)~
Raf sat in his first class seat, trying to tune out the sounds of an arguing couple behind him.
"You never listen to me!"
"You never say anything interesting!"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me! You're an idiot!"
"Then why'd you marry me?"
Raf took a deep calming breath, trying to focus on Jasper. Raf wondered about Jack and Miko, how they were, what they were up to, and he was saddened to think so much time had passed since they had last met up. So much time had slipped through their fingers, and now that they were reaching their 'Golden Years', Raf really hoped his friends and he could at least hang out a bit more than they had.
They were friends, and they had a bond that couldn't be broken by distance or time.
They had the Autobot secret.
So no matter what, Raf knew that Miko and Jack would be there, waiting for him. Raf just hoped Miko wasn't late like she was last time...Or come crashing in on a dune buggy.
Raf just had to laugh at the memory, the sound bubbling up and escaping him with a smile.
"Excuse me? Do you think this is funny?" The angry woman from behind him demanded, leaning over the seat. "I bet you aren't even married, and here you are acting like my failing marriage is a joke!"
"Ma'am, I've been married over twenty years," Raf told the brunette calmly. "I have three kids, and my wife and I work our issues out in the privacy of our own home. We don't air our problems out for the world to hear."
"Hmph," the woman snorted.
"Don't bring another stranger into this, Ariel," the man growled.
"Oh shut up, who do you think you are? Ordering me to do this, do that, like I'm some kind of maid! I am not the hired help!"
"They at least listen to me!"
"I do listen to you!"
"No, you don't. You never do!"
This was going to be a long flight...
~(0)~
"Jasper hasn't changed," Sierra commented, the surprise evident in her face.
"Small towns never do," Jack agreed. "There's something timeless about small towns, something that defies progress."
"No, plenty small towns want to become big cities. You wanted to make our town in Italy more city-ified," Sierra replied.
"But Jasper's different, even you noticed."
"It's in the desert, it really doesn't have much hope," Sierra laughed. "But you're right, I love it here. I would hate to see it get taken over by a big corporation or something. Do you think the town still does the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony?"
"It's the wrong season, Sierra," Jack chuckled. "It's April, spring time."
"I know that, silly," Sierra rolled her eyes. "It's just a simple question. I wish our kids could have come with us, I would have loved to show them my old town..."
"They have studying to do, Sierra, I don't think they would like you just picking them up and dropping them here in the desert," Jack laughed, knowing that was probably something Miko would do. Jack absently wondered about his friend as he drove their car through the slumbering town. What had she been up to all these years? How were her kids? Was she even responsible these days? Jack thought how funny it would be if Miko was actually normal, something that no one, ever, would say to describe the girl Jack remembered.
"I know, but since they went off to get their 'higher education' things haven't been the same! I miss the sound of Cecilia telling me she needs new clothes, or Marcus rushing into the house forgetting to take off his cleats! All the mud that boy tracked in!" Sierra shuddered. "Things just aren't the same, Jack."
"That's why we need to go back to our roots. We need to slow down, we're so used to the rush when we had to get the kids to practice or clubs or school! We need to slow down, and this is the perfect opportunity. Besides, we've been needing some desert air. Italy is nice, but there's something about the desert..." Jack trailed off, a smile emerging on his face. He never could explain it, but the desert air was so different from everything else. It was peaceful, there just wasn't anything else Jack could say about his native habitat.
"Oh Jack," Sierra laughed, leaning over to give her husband a peck on the cheek. "It's nice to be home."
