11.

Cruel Fate

Rae never knew she didn't like the sound of bone cracking against bone, the feeling of skin ripping, the taste of blood. She didn't know how much it could hurt to have fists slammed into her ribs, into her stomach, into her face. She didn't know how much it hurt to have her hair pulled, to have nails dig into as they ripped off her clothes, to have her legs forced open. She never knew how much one person could hurt her.

She never knew any of this until she met Micah.

It had been weeks since she had left the nightclub with Jeffrey. She understood why Micah was angry, but she didn't understand his wrath. He could've walked away. He could've spit in her face and told everyone she was a whore.

After he beat her, Rae had stayed up the whole night crying. She sat in the bathroom while Micah slept, 911 entered on her phone but she couldn't make herself call. Instead, she chose to lie to her friends and coworkers. She told them she had been involved in a fight at a bar. She told them she was pressing charges. And, Rae felt like dying when they believed her.

It had taken weeks for the injuries to heal, but she knew the memories would never fade. She would wake up in the middle of the night, shaking and screaming from some awful nightmare about Micah only to be comforted by him. Rae knew this couldn't go on anymore. Even if she loved him, her fear was now greater. Somehow, she had to get away from him for good.

"Have a nice day," Rae said as she finished checking out the customer that had walked into the gas station she worked at.

"Hey, Rae."

Rae looked over her shoulder as one of her coworkers came up behind her. She stood beside her at the counter as another customer wandered in. "You're here early," Rae remarked as she checked the time on her phone, "Two and a half hours early."

Her coworker gave her a sad smile, "I'm a week late on this month's rent. Is it okay if I pick up the last two hours of your shift? I really need the money."

"You sure?" Rae asked. Despite the fact working at the gas station wasn't her favorite thing; she enjoyed being away from Micah.

"The festival is in town, the fireworks are tonight," her coworker replied, "It'll be quiet in here. Go ahead."

"Thanks," Rae replied as she clocked out, "I'll make it up to you sometime if you want."

"No worries," her coworker stated as she turned her attention to the customer.

"Have a nice night," Rae called out before walking out of the gas station. She sighed heavily, staring out across the gas pumps as she made her way across the hot pavement towards the sidewalk. Glumly, she slowly meandered towards the bus stop so that she could go back to the apartment. Micah wouldn't be expecting her for another two and a half hours though.

A grin stretched across her face as she took out her phone. She dialed a number before pressing the phone against her ear.

Rae lifted her arms as the wind raced against her. Her hair flew out behind her as she and Caliburst raced back to the Autobot base together. It felt so good to be this free.

"Jetfire will be glad to see you."

Rae smiled down at the Minicon. "Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Over a month. Though he denies it, he's been driving himself crazy since he hasn't heard from you."

"Well, this little surprise will do him some good."

"I think that's an understatement."

Rae laughed as they pulled into the Autobot base. Caliburst kept driving until they reached the command center. When they arrived, Rae got off him before he transformed. She walked forward, the doors parting when she got close enough, and she wandered inside. Everyone was so busy, no one took notice of her, but Rae immediately spotted the white Autobot engaged in a conversation with Hotshot and the other kids.

Grinning, she called out, "Hey, Jetfire, can I steal you for a little while?"

The deputy commander immediately whirled around, his yellow optics filled with shock. "Rae!" he exclaimed, "For Primus' sake, give me a spark-attack why don't you."

She shrugged, "I thought I'd surprise you."

Jetfire looked to Optimus before asking, "You mind if I leave for a little bit?"

"No, but behave," Optimus replied.

"Yeah, yeah," the Autobot second in command stated before picking Rae up and heading out the door. "You couldn't give me a warning that you were coming?" he asked.

"Nope," she said, "It was a spur of the moment thing. I finished my shift early so I thought I'd stop by for a bit."

"It's good to see you, Rae. I was getting worried."

"Caliburst mentioned that you were. Who's Primus?"

"Primus?"

"You mentioned his name."

"He's our creator. Kind of like your God I guess."

"So, do you pray?"

Jetfire looked down at Rae before he responded, "Not often…what makes you ask that?"

"I've found that I've been praying a lot…" she trailed off, "You pray to Primus because he's your god?"

"Sort of, he's mortal, like you and me, but possesses great power."

"What do you pray about?"

"Good luck…sometimes I beg for my life on the battlefield. What about your God? I don't know much about Him."

"I'm not sure He's real. But, if he is, he's supposedly a Holy Spirit that created the universe and every creature that exists on Earth."

"Why have you been praying a lot to a God you're not even sure you believe in?"

Rae sucked in a breath, "I…pray out of despair."

"What do you say?"

"I ask for strength, for guidance and wisdom…for someone to take my pain away and save me."

"Rae…what's going on?"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," she said quickly, averting her gaze from his.

"Rae…"

She didn't say anything. Instead, she kept her gaze away from him. Jetfire vented a sigh, knowing that Rae wasn't going to talk. Deciding not to prod her further, he headed for the exit of the base. "Let's do our thing," he said.

"Our thing?" she asked, looking up at him.

"You know, watch the sunset."

He watched as her smile returned. He walked to the place they normally watched the sunset together before he sat down, setting Rae down on the ground beside him. She proceeded to sit down herself before she said, "You know, the last time I spoke with you, you said transformers have relationships."

"We do," Jetfire confirmed.

"Do you have a family?"

"No, no children, no mate, I'm a single, extremely good-looking bachelor if I don't say so myself," he said, causing Rae to smile and shake her head, "What about you, you got kids hiding somewhere?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Do you want some, someday?"

"Sure I do, if I ever meet the right guy," she said, her smile suddenly vanishing.

"You'll find him; he might even be closer than what you think." He watched as she turned her gaze away from the sunset and to the ground. He couldn't help but feel that something was horribly wrong, but he didn't dare say anything should his intuition be lying.

"Jetfire," she said.

"Yeah?"

"I feel like I'm manacled to this town…"

"You're going to go far, Ra-Ra."

"I don't think so."

"Look at you, Rae. You're so vibrant, so full of life and love, you're so passionate about everything, and you think so deeply…" he said.

"That's not enough."

"You'll find what you need to make it enough, heck, what are your friends doing?"

"Michelle is a barista saving her hard earned dollars for a car. Jenna works at a Greek restaurant paying off student loans."

"What are you saving for?"

"A bigger dream, something beyond the limits of the streetlights, beyond my friends and family, something out there that's just beyond my reach."

He smiled, "Your passion will carry you."

She smiled. "So…" she stated as she tried to think of something else to talk about, "When was the last time you were with a femme?"

Jetfire wasn't sure if he trusted the suspicious expression she held on her face. "You mean, sexually?" he asked.

"No," she remarked sarcastically, "The last time you took a stroll through the park with one. Of course I mean sexually."

"It's been a long time," he answered, "Don't make fun of me, but I can't really remember the last time I saw a femme…why?"

She shrugged, "I was just wondering if you were a virgin or not."

"No," he said, "That I lost millennia ago."

"Well then…since you haven't seen or been with a femme for while…is that why you like me so much?"

"Come on, Rae, you know I have more respect for a woman than that. Heck, if I was like that, I would have spent a ton of time with Alexis since she was here before you."

"True. So, how do you guys select mates? Do you date people?"

"Yes…but unlike humans, we know for a fact when we've found 'the one.'"

"What do you mean?"

"For every transformer created, there is another created to be with that one…it's preordained by Primus I guess. When we find the one we're supposed to be with, we know it, kind of like an instinct."

"But you'll have sex with them even when you know they're not your spark-mate?"

"It's called being horny. You should know all about it."

She laughed before saying, "For me, being horny is not enough. The guy needs to be decent, clean, and I need to feel sexually attracted to him."

"Well, obviously. I don't sleep with just anyone."

"Can transformers be gay?"

"Yes, but it's not frowned upon or considered taboo. We're robots, after all."

"Then…is there anyone right now you're sexually attracted to?"

"Not anyone here. I'm straight. What about you?"

"I suppose if I had to pick a guy, it'd be that Jeffrey person I met that one time. He was beautiful and an amazing kisser."

"You never heard from him?" Jetfire asked as he tried not to think about Rae naked.

"He said he'd find me. I haven't been out enough for him to find me," she answered and then abruptly changed the subject, "Have you been up to a lot in the last month?"

"Oh you know, we raided the Decepticon base and found out they're building a warship. I went to Mars with Starscream. Can't say I've been up to too much."

"You went to Mars?"

"You bet."

"You don't even know how cool that is. I mean, you're able to leave your planet. I'm never going to leave this place."

"Maybe I'll take you to Cybertron one day."

"Really?" she asked excitedly, "I mean, that would be amazing."

An alarm suddenly sounded on her phone and Rae quickly turned it off as she stood up. Jetfire looked to her, "What's going on?"

"I got to get going."

"Already?" he asked, "You haven't been here that long."

"I know but I need to get home before Micah wonders where I am. There's also a festival going on in town this weekend. I told Micah I'd go with him to see the fireworks."

"You should just stay here, Rae."

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I'm working on leaving Micah? I'm looking for a new place to live and a new job—

"Rae, you can live here."

"Jetfire, even if I move back here, Micah can still find me at work or at school. And, rather than make him mad, it's easier to just stay with him for now."

"What does Micah do when he gets mad?"

"I…I have to go," Rae said, "I'll try to see you again soon."

Jetfire felt his spark go with Rae as he watched her leave. He sighed heavily when she disappeared out of sight and looked back to the horizon the sun had just slipped below. These moments he had with her, they weren't long enough.

"Rae mentioned something about a festival going on in town tonight," Jetfire casually mentioned as he stepped inside the rec room where the kids were gathered.

"You bet!" Carlos remarked, "We were planning on heading there ourselves. Since you can become a human, you want to go with?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"They're doing fireworks at 10," Rad stated, "It's nine o'clock now."

"Well…maybe I'll come for a little bit then."

"Sweet, we're leaving in a few minutes," Rad replied.

"I'll meet you outside the base with Caliburst," Jetfire remarked before leaving the rec room.

Rae sighed heavily as Micah spread a blanket on the ground for them to sit on. She sat down first, him beside her. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "Just like how it used to be, huh?" he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah," she remarked unenthusiastically, "Just like old times."

"Rae, you know I'm trying really hard."

She blinked back the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes. She didn't have the strength to tell him that she was scared to death of him. Instead, she leaned against him before saying, "I know."

"Thanks for coming with me, Ra-Ra."

"Would you get mad if I asked if I could hang out with my friends after this?"

"What friends?"

"Female ones," she replied and then lied, "I want you to trust me. We've both hurt each other and I don't want to hurt you anymore. We can't have a healthy relationship if we don't trust each other."

"Then I can hang out with my friends?"

"Yes and you can do whatever you want, drink, get high, whatever. Just be safe about it."

He smiled and pressed his lips against her cheek, "How long will you be gone?"

"I might stay the night with Jenna and have some girl time. I need more estrogen in my life."

"I love you, babe."

"I love you, too."

He leaned in to kiss her when fireworks suddenly began going off. He immediately turned his attention to the sky and Rae relaxed. She watched the colors explode in the sky above them, wishing she could be sitting next to Jeffrey or Jetfire instead of Micah. However, she tried to ignore her company as she concentrated on the show. When it finally ended, she stood back up, helping Micah to his feet.

"I'm going to get going, babe, you mind taking care of the blanket?"

"Yeah, no problem."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, "See you in the morning."

"You too," she replied before watching him walk away. She sighed with relief as she watched him disappear into the crowd before she picked up the blanket and folded it up. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket, but not to call her friends. Instead she had every intention of going back to the Autobot base and staying the night. She was just about to press the call button when a flash of red caught her eye. She looked up and felt her heart nearly beat out of her chest.

"Jeffrey!" she exclaimed, dropping her phone back into her pocket.

He grinned as he approached her, "Miss me?"

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Looking for you," he replied.

She shook her head, smiling. "Well, it's about time you found me."

"Is it?" he asked as he watched her blush, "Are you here alone?"

"I came with Micah, but he left to hang out with his friends."

"I thought you were getting rid of him."

"I'm working on it."

"Well, you shouldn't have to spend the rest of the night alone. Is Micah expecting you back by a certain time?"

"Not until the morning," she replied, hugging the blanket against her chest.

Jetfire stepped closer to her, a gentle smile on his face. He knew he shouldn't do this, but he didn't care anymore. He pulled Rae into his arms, wishing he could hold her like this all the time. "I've missed you," he breathed before kissing her.

And, like the first time he kissed her, Rae melted into him. He deepened the kiss immediately, his tongue sliding past her lips and dancing with hers. His hands cupped her face; his callused thumbs gently stroked her cheeks as he kissed her. Rae felt like she was in heaven. There was no coming down from this. She felt as his hands drifted down her torso and he tightly gripped her waist.

"What do you say we go for a drive?" he asked, "Race the wind with me."

She nodded, still breathless from the kiss. He took her by the hand, leading her back over to Caliburst. He handed her a helmet before taking the blanket from her, lifting the seat, and putting it inside there. He put the seat back down and Rae climbed on. He got on as well and sped off into the night, Rae clinging to him.

They didn't notice a black car following them.

Jetfire ended up going down a dirt road before stopping next to a grassy field. "Come on," he said as he hopped off the motorcycle before helping Rae off.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she took her helmet off.

"The sky is huge out here," he replied as he took off his helmet and set it aside. He proceeded to retrieve the blanket before saying, "I bet we can see a lot of shooting stars out here."

Rae just smiled as she took his hand and allowed him to lead her into the field. At the bottom of a hill, Jetfire spread out the blanket and proceeded to lay down on it with Rae. "Do you look at the stars a lot?" Rae asked as she cuddled against him.

He wrapped an arm around her, "Yes."

"Do you know any of the constellations?"

"I can't say I do."

"You see that group right there?" she asked as she pointed, "That's the Big Dipper. And that cluster over there, that's Orion's Belt."

"What's that bright one up there?" he asked, pointing.

"Polaris, also known as the North Star."

"And that one?"

"Um…that's the moon…"

He laughed, "I know, I'm just messing with you."

She shook her head, "When I was younger, after my dad left, my mom would take me outside and spread out a blanket like this. She'd point out the constellations to me, but I can't remember half of the ones she told me. We'd stay out until the coyotes started howling."

Jetfire looked to her, "Your father left?"

"He left when I was really young, I don't really remember him very well. I hate the man for abandoning my mother. He never paid an ounce of child support; he never kept in touch with mom to see how I was. I always wished for him to come home just once for maybe Christmas or my birthday, but he never did. Wherever he is and whatever he's doing, he's no father of mine."

"Your mom is a strong woman."

"She never got over it. She never married. She had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. I was all she needed and now I'm not even there."

"Your mother raised a beautiful woman."

She looked to him, meeting his gaze. He smiled before pressing his lips against her forehead. "You know," he said as he trailed the kisses down her cheek towards her lips, "The stars look prettier in your eyes."

Rae clung to him as he kissed her again. He rolled so that he was on top of her, kissing her deeply. Rae wanted to wrap every part of her around him. She thought about having sex with him right there on the blanket, however, he wasn't making any sexual advances. Her heart fluttered inside her chest. Maybe she had finally met a guy who actually respected women…maybe she had finally met a guy that cared.

However, as the night dragged on, neither of them noticed a black car parked at the top of the hill above them, watching them. Wheeljack felt his tanks churn with disgust as he witnessed the display of affection between Rae and the mysterious male she had left with. He was thankful, though, that they weren't mating. In order to distract himself, he ran a scan on the male. He was shocked, however, when the scan picked something up.

Whoever the male was, he was wearing pretender technology.

"An Autobot?" he mumbled to himself, completely shocked, "An Autobot romancing a human at that?" Bitterly curious, he ran a scan on the male's molecular make up until he decoded his DNA signature. "Let's find out who you are, Autobot," Wheeljack breathed as he entered the signature into a database. He waited for it to sift through the data before the result suddenly flared.

Signature match. Result: Jetfire.

"Won't Megatron be tickled…" he remarked before shifting into reverse and driving away.

Megatron looked up, surprised, when Wheeljack suddenly entered the throne room. Normally when Wheeljack went on his patrols, he would be gone several hours. He looked the black Decepticon over briefly before saying, "You're back early."

"I didn't care to watch Rae engage in an illicit affair anymore."

"Illicit?" Megatron asked, optics flashing.

"One of the Autobots is engaging in a romantic relationship with your human, sir."

"My human…" he mused, "Which Autobot?"

"Jetfire, sir."

"The second in command?"

"Yes, sir."

"How?"

"He's using pretender technology," Wheeljack explained, "Before I was recruited as a soldier, I did a bit of work as a scientist. I heard rumors that scientists created pretender technology when we started encountering organic planets. Our features are determined by our spark signature, much like a human's personal features are determined by their DNA. When used, the pretender technology translates a spark signature into synthetic DNA, causing one to look human without actually being human. Before leaving Cybertron, the Minicons must have taken it with them as a precautionary measure in case they came in contact with organic planets. The Autobots must have found it in their base after take up residence in it."

"Are you sure it was Jetfire romancing the human?"

"When I noticed the technology, I did a molecular scan of the human and ran his DNA signature through an Autobot database. His signature matched that of Jetfire's. There's no possible way it could be anyone else but him."

Megatron smirked noticeably, obviously please. "I wonder what he's thinking, entertaining a human in such forbidden ways," he stated, "I wonder if she knows."

"She was calling him Jeffrey, so I would assume he has not told her."

"So the Autobot second in command is leading a double life…"

"It's entirely possible that she is his spark-mate. There are records in our history where Cybertronians have been mated to organic creatures. However, when that happens usually there are glitches within the preordainment and more than one transformer is mated to the organic. I do not mean to call you out, sir, but with your deep interest in Rae…"

"My, how cruel fate can be," Megatron mused.

"Sir?"

"Do not speak a word of this to the others; it will be your head if you do."

"As you command, Megatron."

"For now, I'll let Jetfire do as he pleases, but soon he will have to be eliminated. Make sure my human remains safe until I can have her," and he smirked wickedly.

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed."

And with that, Wheeljack left the room fully convinced that Megatron had the same illicit interests in Rae as Jetfire did.

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