Oh wow, you guys are just so, so, SO great! My special thanks are to lokiwaterdraca, KdZeal and Mrs. Optimus Prime, who are amazing friends and suggestion-makers. You ALL rock, too! Keep it up! Now, enough gushing and on to the chapter! :D
Disclaimer : I own nothing
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Chapter 9 : Comfort
I've been poked, probed, prodded and pissed off all day. If I don't get a hug, I'm eating your face! ~ Myself after a stress test.
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Optimus blinked at the human staring up at him. The data pad was packed with his small-for-a-mech handwriting. He read it over for about the third time, humming to himself. He hated it when he spelled things wrong. The teen was named Cole Grinder. A platinum blond, sixteen years of age, gray eyes, five-foot-nine and underweight. He claimed that a, quoting the teen, 'purple robot jet thingy', had taken his traveling companion, a female named Sarah. According to what Cole had said about her habits and persona, Sarah had something that Ratchet had called, 'Body Dismorphic Disorder.'
The medic had run the 'symptoms' through a search engine, and that's what came up. Optimus frowned to himself, thinking over the definition. Someone like her with someone as conceited and violent as a Seeker... he was more than a little concerned about the female. Was he a bit soft-sparked for being worried about someone he'd never met? Maybe so...
"So... is that all you can tell me?" He asked, mouth shrinking.
The teen shrugged. "Yeah, that's what happened." He said, shuffling his feet. The red and blue bot smiled slightly. The teen was shy around the taller bots. It'd be interesting to see how he reacted to the rest of the crew.
"Well, if that's all... you can stay. Sari and Bumblebee will show you around." Optimus said with a nod. "Come get me if you need anything. I'll discuss your friend with Ultra Magnus." The bot walked away.
"Okay. And thank you!" The teen said, waving. Sari jokingly pulled his arm back to his side, covering her nose. "...he is cute." Cole said, leaning toward Sari. The red haired teen giggled.
"Yeah..." Sari said, smiling. "Now, come on... you really need a shower." She said, tugging him with both hands.
"What the!" The teen said, pulling away. It felt like pincers or tongs had grabbed him. He looked at Sari's left arm, and instantly apologized. "I-I'm sorry I- uh... I thought it was a-a-a tattoo!" He looked half ready to turn and run. Sari blinked, eying the black plating and glowing blue circuitry. "It looked too weird to be a prosthetic. No! I didn't mean weird, I meant-!"
Sari giggled, looking at her black and blue arm. "That'd be one wicked tattoo, now wouldn't it? It's all me, though. I'm a techno-organic." She said, beaming, holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers with an almost silent 'whir'. She used to hate what she was, but she had learned that people would accept it if she explained it. People generally thought it was pretty cool. "I'll explain it later, k?" She said, smiling at the wide-eyed look he gave her.
"Can I touch it?" He asked, pointing to her arm. She giggled again.
"I'll one-up you on that!" She hugged Cole, and spun him once, earning a loud 'eep!' from the teen. She set him down, grinning.
"I think I should shower now." He said, trying not to giggle.
"What was your first clue?" Bumblebee said. Sari glared at him over her shoulder.
"Come on, I'll get you a towel." Sari said, grabbing Cole's hand in her exposed one and leading him down the hall. Bumblebee went to the main room, turning on the TV. There was a report of a 'Strange Robot.' that had attacked Paris, France.
"Yo! Boss-bot! You'll wanna see this." He called. Optimus entered the room, still holding the data pad. The red and blue bot came to the back of the couch, resting on his elbows. He watched the grainy footage of a robot, purple, apparently cackling like crazy. The robot fired and fought with a few jets, before getting shot and flying away.
"Well," He said, joints creaking a bit from lack of recharge. "Looks like we've found the..." He yawned, covering his mouth. "Purple... robot... jet... thingy..." He closed his optics, slumping over the couch.
"What you say boss-" The yellow bot looked, optics going wide. "-bot? Uh... Prime? You awake?" A groan. "Hehe... nope." He decided to comm Bulkhead, but the big bot wasn't answering. "Aw, man! What am I gonna do with you? I can't move you on my own! Can't let you sleep out here where captain Leno can badmouth you." He muttered, frowning at the thought of Sentinel dissing his leader for getting tired.
"We can be being of use, Bumbles!" Said two familiar Russian accents. The short bot looker over the couch, and there were the twins, grinning.
"Lumberjack bot is tired, yes?" Jetfire said, pointing.
Jetstorm nodded, spreading his arms wide. "We will help move the lumberjack bot to berth, yes?"
"Phew, thanks you guys. I'll show you his room." They didn't notice Sari walk in. The teen watched, confused, as the three bots tried to lift Optimus off the couch from his less-than-dignified position.. "No, grab his legs. His legs. His legs! No! Don't pull! We gotta get his-"
THOOM! Sari winced, covering her mouth to hide a giggle. Optimus had been dropped on his front, groaning in pain and muttering the occasional swear word. "...arms." Bumblebee's voice turned into a whimper, as he and the Twins scampered out of sight. The red and blue bot raised himself to his elbows, frowning.
"Great... Sari, did I get a dent?" He said, looking at the techno-teen with one optic. He blinked before closing the optic. "I think...think I got a dent..." He set his head down, seeming content to sleep on the floor. Sari had to wake him up enough to get him to his berth.
"...lemme, uh, lemme check." Sari said, walking carefully up to his face. She got to her knees, and checked him out. He looked like he was smiling a little, which she liked, because he needed to smile more. Her fingers skimmed his helm, going down to his cheek. Her other hand, her left hand, touched his nose armor, rubbing it before going to the gap between his nose armor and lip components. Huh... soft, like metal coated with silicone.
Fully awake, and feeling his face plate warm up, Optimus opened an optic."So, am I good?" He asked quietly.
The teen nodded. "Yep! No dents, no dings." She smiled.
"Good..." He pushed himself onto his knees, and stood, using the couch for support. The bot placed his hand on his audio, shaking his head a bit to clear his sight.
"Hehe... come on, big guy. Lets get you to bed." Sari said, walking into his room. He followed, leaning on a wall every now and then for support. He made it to the platform, in recharge before he was fully down. "Hehehe! You look comfy, Optimus..." Sari climbed up to the berth, and crawled up to his chest. Hes was warm, and it was almost midnight. Bumblebee could show Cole around. She liked the warmth. "I can see why you like it up here... it's..." She yawned. "...really warm..." And soon, Sari was asleep.
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Nell was moving, she knew that. She wasn't on a horse, and she wasn't in a car. Someone was holding her, carrying her somewhere. She wasn't too sure who it was, being half awake. It was kind of cold where they were, and she went into looking for a warm spot. Whatever warm something she had nestled into, it was metal, glass, and chuckling. The woman opened her eyes half way, looking at a familiar ninja bot.
"Prowl..." she said quietly. The bot looked down at her, keeping his pace even. "Uh... whatcha doin'?" she asked, blinking.
"What I'm doing, Nell, is taking you home." He said quietly.
"I thought I was home." She mumbled. The bot smiled.
"I meant the stable, Nell. I couldn't leave you out in the grass, could I?"
Nell yawned, closing her eyes again. "...done it 'fore..." The woman pressed into him, mumbling.
"I... didn't catch that, Nell. Say it again?" He asked, visor shifting.
"...said you're warm..." The woman grumbled, curling up.
"Ah." He continued to the stable. "I came out of recharge not long ago. It's about midnight. No one called my commlink, so they may think I'm staying for the night." He paused for a reply.
"...yeah... stay over... yeah..." The woman mumbled.
"You sure it's alright?" He asked, climbing over the gate. He walked into the barn.
"Yeah..." Nell smiled. "...you're a good pillow..."
Prowl's visor widened, and he hopped onto the loft. As much as he liked the woman in his arms, he wasn't ready to be a pillow.
"Whee..." The woman in his arms muttered. He chuckled at her. Nell was different when she was half awake. "Wait a minute..." She said, placing her hand on his chest plate. "...what about Brandy and her Bebe..."
Bebe? What was a... oh, she meant baby. He smiled. "I'll handle them, Nell. You just go back to sleep."
"M'kay, Prowler..." She mumbled. He cocked his head slightly, and set her on the bed. Her eyes opened, and she blinked a few times, trying to focus on his face. "Did I just call you Prowler?"
The dark bot nodded, still smiling. The woman blinked a few more times, flopping over with a grunt. He stood to take care of the two creatures still in the field. "Hang on a minute..." Nell mumbled. Prowl paused, and got to one knee, nodding at the woman. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times again. She was trying to stay awake. "You like me, right?"
Prowl's visor widened. "Yes, I do like you." What an odd thing to ask.
Nell blinked slowly at him. "...why?" She seemed honestly confused. He thought a minute. He turned around, leaning back on the bed. For some reason, he couldn't look at her while he said it.
"Why? Uh... well..." He tapped his fingertips on a knee plate, mouth crooked in thought. "You're love of nature, for one. You like making people happy, even though you take it a bit too far." He remembered that game of twister, frowning slightly. That really could have hurt something. "The way you handle things... you express yourself freely, and-"
There was a gentle buzzing sound behind him, and he turned to find Nell, curled up and out cold. The ninja bot chuckled. He had been told before his voice was soothing. "I'll be right back. I have to take care of Brandy and... Cassio, was it?" He dove off the loft, landing gently, going to the field to gather the mother and child.
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Sarah laid down, the silver claws and black palm holding her down. The tube was coming out. No more painful tubes to trip her up and make her scream obscenities. Starscream would always stop his typing to look at her when she'd do that. Then he'd look them up, and sometimes hum at the meaning. "Hold... still..." The seeker said, grabbing the tube with his opposite hand. He looked down at her, giving her his lopsided frown. "I don't have to remind you that this will hurt, but..." He blinked at her. She had wrapped her arms around his fingers, nodding and squeezing. "And..." He pulled the tube out with one quick movement.
"SHIT!" Sarah screamed, gripping his fingers tight. She tried to stop shaking, but it hurt like hell! The tube he had pulled out was the thickest one. The feeding tube. Sarah tried to ignore the thumb rubbing her side, and was somewhat relieved when the hand pulled away. She lay there, panting from pain.
The seeker looked at the tube, frowning. "Just relax ,and try not to move around. I don't want to cauterize you again." He hated the smell of burnt flesh. It stung. It stung and lingered. After a few minutes of taking notes, numbly noting the current aria, and thinking of the right formula for the liquid diet Sarah would go on soon, the human spoke up.
"Okay, gotta ask." Sarah said, slowly rolling onto her stomach. It felt weird to not have a tube. But it was the good kind of weird. "What's with the Opera?"
The seeker spun in his chair, looking at her with a smug grin. "Opera is, if anything, the most complex thing humans have ever done. The mere dedication required to gain recognition in such a difficult subject is mind boggling." Mind boggling? Did he hit his head while fighting those jets on Earth? Well, even if he had, he'd be healed by now.
"Oh, okay. You might like Heavy Metal. It's hard to do, too. They have a lot in common, really. At least on the level of difficulty."
He rolled his optics at that. "Right..." The seeker said, stretching the word with sarcasm. That got her mad.
"Oh my god." Sarah groaned. She pointed at him, frowning deeply. "You're one of those kinds of people!" She huffed. "I never thought a robot would be one of those kinds of people!"
The seeker turned suddenly, walking to the berth, taking a seat. Even sitting down, he loomed over her."One of what kinds of people?" Starscream asked, leaning on the ledge, frowning. "Do clear this up for me, because if that was an insult, I may get to have target practice." The growl turned into a dark and angry hiss. "Explain."
The human glared. Like he'd really shoot her. "You are one of those people who think that Metal is for 'heathens' and 'emos'." She ran a hand through her greasy hair. The seeker blinked. He stiffened his lips, and propped his head up on one hand, the other holding the propped up arm by the elbow. Sarah backed up, not standing due to her aching navel. "What?"
"Enlighten me, smart one." The seeker said, tapping a claw tip against his cheek armor.
Sarah peeked through her hair, eyes wide. "Say what?"
"Human, I know nothing of this... 'metal'." He said the word 'metal' slowly. The seeker knew fully well what it was. He just liked speaking with Sarah without her hiding in the back corner. "But, you assume that I think it's a bad thing. So, do enlighten me." His grin slackened, staring with half open optics. "Because, if you haven't noticed, there's not much else to do up here." He shrugged at the room as if to prove his point.
"It's the Moon, what were you expecting?" She snorted.
Starscream blinked, frowning at her. "Back to the heathens and Emus."
"Emos. And they don't like being called that. I'll tell you about them later, okay?" The human said, sitting cross legged. "So..."
Staring with a raised eyebrow, the seeker crossed his arms, leaning forward on his elbows. "The Metal." He smirked. "Explain the 'Metal' to me."
"...right..." Sarah blinked, and thought about it. "Uh, well, Lord Starscream, Metal is a music genre. It has loud drumbeats, huge guitar solos, and amazing vocalists." She waited for a response.
There was a moment of quiet, before the seeker rasped at her. "I want an example." He said flatly.
"You want a what?" Okay, this was not what she was expecting.
"Primus, human, you're that dense?" He grumbled, rubbing his optics. How he didn't rip himself open with his claws was beyond her. "I want you to give me an example of Metal." He said, frowning.
Oh shit. Was he actually asking her to... no way. "You... want me... to sing?" She said, not believing him. This was a joke. This had to be a joke.
"No, fool, I want you to set yourself on fire. Yes, I want you to sing!" The seeker was growing frustrated. He knew this female could sing. It wasn't Opera. It was far from it, but he wanted to hear it. When Starscream wanted something, he'd get it. One way, or another. "So..." He said, curling a fist and resting his chin on the knuckles. "How about it, Sarah? Think you can manage?" He was using his 'sexy voice' on her. He was pretty sure it didn't work on humans. He didn't know why he was using it in the first place. He figured it was worth a shot.
Sarah growled. "What the hell makes you think I can sing? Can you sing?" She asked, sneering at him. She was getting tired of him. He was so... full of himself! Demanding and demented and... kinda funny when she thought of it. But his bad side outweighed anything she could hope to call his good side.
Starscream blinked, optics wide. He looked like he had pulled in his lower lip. The seeker bowed his head, arms around his stomach plating, shaking like crazy. Sarah thought for a second, that she had upset him, but then, "Gahahahahaaaaaa! What the- phht! HAHAHAHAHA! What- hahaha! -have you-Bahaha! Have you heard me talk?!" He was laughing. It looked and sounded like he was running out of air. Did robots need to breath?
"Yeah, I hear it more than I'd like." Sarah grumbled, ignoring the manic robot. He had fallen onto his back, giggling. That was creepy, someone like him giggling. He looked at her and rolled to one side, lifting himself on an elbow to do so. The seeker was still giggling. "But, really, listen to the guy from Megadeth. You sound just like him."
The seeker grinned at her, standing up. "Is that a... complement?" He stepped toward her. He grinned wide, licking his fangs with his his glossa. He hadn't meant to make that gesture. He kept talking anyway. "I can assure you, flattery will get you nowhere... nowhere you want to be, at least." The seeker grinned, and Sarah stood up, growling.
"Who the hell-AH!" She fell to her knees, panting and whimpering. Starscream blinked, and reached into her tank. He touched her carefully with his claws, half grabbing, half stroking.
"Roll over. Roll over, human, I need to see." He rolled her himself, uncurling her with surprisingly gentle digits. "Hold on... hold on... and..." He lifted her shirt, looking at her navel. "No blood, no problem." He dropped her shirt and pulled away, but she started talking.
"...hurts... dammit..." Was all he could make out.
"So, you're in pain..." He muttered."...maybe we should skip 'The Metal' until you heal up, eh?" He said quietly, reaching back down, rubbing two knuckles on her stomach. Sarah didn't like it at first, but after a while, it felt... pretty good. He kept it up for a moment or two, before he realized that Sarah was falling asleep. He lifted his hand away, the female going into a ball.
He looked at the hand he had used on Sarah, turning it over for a better look. "Hang on to the glory at my right hand..." Starscream half hummed, half mumbled. The seeker smiled almost fondly at the sleeping female. He had been honest when he said he couldn't sing. He hoped that, soon enough, Sarah would sing again. He did have to head back to Earth in a few days. Maybe she'd shower. And if she showered, maybe she'd sing... and, he just might listen to it. "Wonderful." He said, turning back to the monitor and keyboard. He wanted to know what 'Megadeth' was...
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Annnnd done. Okay! This one was pretty fun to do, I hope you enjoyed it! By the way, listen to 'Take No Prisoners' by Megadeth. It sound a LOT like Starscream. Please Read & Review!
