Chapter 11
Kate looked at the clock that was sitting next to the bed. It was almost three in the morning and she had to work in less than four hours. She lay there, on her back, trying to get the lyrics from that damn song out of her head that she had heard on the radio the other day.
"And I would be the one/ To hold you down/ Kiss you so hard/ I'll take your breath away…"
Turning on her side, Kate saw Mike next to her, snoring away. And as she lay there, in his bed, in his home, all Kate could do was think. It was only a few hours ago when he had been inside her, in between her thighs, her legs wrapped around him, moving in perfect rhythm to a sweet harmony that had left the both of them breathless. And when their climax hit together, beads of sweat coming off their bodies, Kate felt as if she had suddenly been woken alive with a rampant passion she had thought died some time ago.
But the intimate coupling Kate had just experienced still wasn't enough to sway her mind away from what had been at the back of it for a month now.
That evening…in Bluestreak's quarters, on the floor, her lying beneath him, his finger tips tracing an idle path on her body…
Kate hadn't been back to the Autobot base since then. She was trying though, really, really trying to keep herself occupied so she didn't have to think about it. Since meeting the young gunner, Kate hadn't really done much of anything else, having turned down a few invites to hang out with a few girlfriends from work, who seemed overly concerned about her since the alleged "car jacking" they thought had happened to her awhile back.
And when she finally did go out with them, sitting around, listening to their mindless gossip about their husbands, children, and life in general, Kate's mind would always find her thoughts drifting to the brightly hued blue Autobot who had once brought Maggie the best retrieving toys around.
Lying there silently, Kate could hear Mike's soft breathing next to her, a slow relaxation she would've given anything to have right then and there as her own.
Closing her eyes, Kate saw it.
His fingertips…tracing…her lying beneath with nothing but a refined, delicate tenderness above her that no human touch could've ever come close to…and the look on his face staring down…
It had broadsided her. She wasn't prepared for it. And it scared her. Out of her mind.
Looking up at Bluestreak's optics that evening, Kate had been frozen with a tiny, minute fear of not knowing what he was going to do or what he wanted to do, forgetting he was a being from another solar system. It wasn't the type of fear where he was going to harm her, but rather, what he might've been capable of to set her free and unravel her soul from all the hurt and anguish floating deep within.
Running it over in her mind, Kate wondered what Sigmund Freud and Alfred Kinsey would've said about it all. She imagined their diagnoses saying how unnatural it was for a human being to feel such strong desire for anything outside of their own species, especially a species that wasn't even organic in nature.
And Kate knew she felt something for the sensitive, talkative gunner, something that went beyond talking about star constellations and Greek mythology. She knew it the moment his fingertips touched the middle of her chest, as a surge of electrifying emotion ran through her body from the deepest depths of places Kate thought no one could reach. But in that moment, lying beneath Bluestreak, nearly pinned down to the floor, she was more than willing to show him everything without another care or thought.
And after reading the unmistakable vulnerability and longing on the young Autobot's face, Kate knew he wanted the same.
It wasn't logical. It wasn't natural. It wasn't right. Bluestreak wasn't even human. What could he possibly do for her?
Kate had been there once, stumbling blindly through a wildfire, hoping to avoid the flames that had only left her burned and eternally scarred. Never again would she go through that. Never.
But Kate knew herself all too well. She was weak. If only Bluestreak knew…knew just how bad she wanted to take the fall from grace that evening and let it all go, thanking the lord above on the way down as she did it.
No, there wasn't any other way about it.
She had to stay away from him.
Sitting by himself at the circular meeting table that sat in the middle of the command center, Bluestreak was trying to attach the sensor onto his gun that would let him distinguish a Decepticon weapon from a spark extractor. Everyone had been working on their own device for the past month, but it seemed Bluestreak just wasn't coming along as well as everyone else, seeing how he was the only one out of the group who hadn't finished his.
"Blast this slaggin' piece of scrap!" Bluestreak blurted out, frustrated beyond belief.
Bumblebee came over to his comrade and smiled some. "Need some help there, Blue? I think all you have to do is connect the…"
"I'm fine!" Bluestreak snapped.
Trying to shrug off the biting remark, Bumblebee said slowly, "Alright…suit yourself. I was just trying to help."
Walking back over to Ratchet and Jazz, Bumblebee made a sighing noise and then went back to uploading some data that had come through from Prowl back on Cybertron.
"What's up Blue's tailpipe? He's been really testy these past few weeks. Did someone mess with his energon?" Bumblebee asked, turning to the other two senior officers.
"Human trouble," Ratchet muttered back, giving Jazz a knowing look.
"You mean Kate? You know, I haven't seen her around in quite awhile. I asked him the other day where she's been and he just about jumped down my drive train!" Bumblebee said.
Hearing another frustrated "Slag!" coming from the table, Jazz watched as Bluestreak finally threw the sensor down, breaking parts off as he did it. And as Jazz heard the mech make his way down the corridor, punching whatever wall was nearby to vent, he knew what he had to do.
"I'll be back guys," Jazz said.
"Hey Blue!"
Bluestreak kept on walking. He wasn't in the mood to talk. He wasn't in the mood to build. He just wanted to stay ticked off.
"Blue, c'mon, buddy!"
Stopping, he heard Jazz come up behind as Bluestreak turned around to face him.
"What?" Bluestreak said sullenly.
"Ya can't keep doing this, Blue."
"Jazz…I really don't wanna…"
"Somethin's jammin' your processors. C'mon on now. Talk to me."
"It's nothing."
"Hey…it's alright to open up every now and then," Jazz said softly. "We've been through a lot together, Blue. You know I've got your back and that you can count on me, if you need someone to talk to, right?"
Bluestreak looked away then, not wanting Jazz to see the hurt brimming in his optics. Every nanocycle it seemed, he thought about her, that evening, what he did, how she told him she didn't want to be around him anymore.
But despite that, Bluestreak knew Jazz was right, that he could count on him. Everyone else razed him about Kate, but he knew Jazz would really listen. Out of all the Autobots, Bluestreak felt the most closest with Optimus and Prowl, but maybe more so with Jazz. He never made fun when Bluestreak talked to him, just sat patiently and listened.
Touching Bluestreak lightly, remembering how sensitive he was, Jazz sighed. He knew something had happened that night with Kate when he took her home. And judging from the next few days that had followed after, how the young gunner would only recharge in the med bay and not in his own quarters, Jazz guessed it had to be something big.
"Blue, what happened, with Kate that night?" Jazz asked lightly, not wanting to push him unnecessarily. "Something happened, didn't it?"
Bluestreak nodded slowly.
"It's okay, Blue."
"Kate…that night…she came to visit me…I was trying to get that sensor together and I dropped my screwdriver and she started playing keep away with it and I thought it was funny and…and…I pulled her beneath me, gently…I didn't hurt her, I swear…she just laid there and stared up at me…and I put my fingertips to her and touched her…I just wanted to see what she felt like…because she's so…so…nice…and I thought that it was okay…to you know…touch her," Bluestreak finally said, his words coming out even more quicker and hurried than usual.
"Ahh, Blue boy…you've got it so bad, don't you?" Jazz said then, grinning.
Bluestreak looked down at the floor. "She told me she didn't think we should hang out anymore. I didn't mean to do it, Jazz! She just smelled really nice…and…when she smiles at me…I just don't know what to do…"
"You care for her deeply. There's nothing wrong with that. Let's you know your spark is still online!" Jazz said.
"Blue," Jazz said to him, seeing how the young gunner was so torn up.
Bluestreak looked away, trying to hide the pain.
"Hey, look at me, Blue," Jazz said a little more firmly, grabbing his chin, reminding him of the early days when he use to have to sit with him to try and calm him down.
"It's okay to care for someone that deep. It's okay if you feel really good around her. And it's okay if you don't know what to do," Jazz said, looking the gunner square in the optic and then continued. "Kate probably just got a little scared. I mean, look at us! We're huge, right? It probably surprised her, caught her off guard. I'm sure she knows you weren't meaning to hurt her. I've seen her with you and how she is. She digs you, Blue! Humans are more complex than we are when it comes to relationships. And that's okay. Give her some time. It'll smooth out. I know it."
Bluestreak stood, his optics staring at the ground. He wanted to believe Jazz, he really did.
"C'mon, get your bad self over here," Jazz said, putting an arm around his shoulders. "It's gonna be alright, okay? Don't worry."
Bluestreak nodded slowly.
"Good, now let's get that sensor of yours together!" Jazz piped up.
Captain Lansing didn't look thrilled at all. Rather, he looked quite worried but he knew if the Autobot leader thought it was the best decision, he would respect it. After all, they were here protecting the earth.
"Are you sure? I can have my men ready to go in half an hour and an air support team ready in fifteen minutes. Just say the word," the Captain said.
Standing at the entry way doors to the Autobot base, looking out to the sunlight, Optimus and the Captain stood together, two very different commanders bound by something so common.
"I appreciate your commitment but I am going to have to decline. This is something we Cybertronians must take care of. We can not endanger the innocent lives of any more humans than needed. That is what Starscream wants," Optimus replied.
"You ever think you might run for President of this country some day?" the Captain asked, smiling.
The Autobot leader grinned back. "No, but I will keep it in mind."
The Captain laughed then and then watched as Optimus stood in front of the entire Autobot crew who had been waiting.
"Ratchet, I want you to stay here. There serves no purpose in our chief medic being potentially injured as well," Optimus said.
"Permission to speak freely," Ratchet said.
"Yes?"
"I'm not letting you go out there with those Cons having those spark extractors and I'm not there with you," Ratchet replied truthfully. "Besides, with me we'll out number them."
Optimus nodded then. "Then let it be."
"Autobots, we have come to a very perilous course of action. Starscream's never ending lust for power has made him create one of the most dangerous weapons we could ever encounter. Engage all of them aggressively. They will not be lenient with us and neither shall we with them!"
"Transform and roll out!"
"Sensors say we're getting close, Optimus. This is definitely the spot," Jazz said as they drove along the dirt road, deep into the rocky cannons.
"Autobots, stay on alert!" Optimus announced.
Toward the end of the caravan, Bumblebee called out, "I'm reading an energy signal that looks like it's directly…"
Out of nowhere, from beneath the earth, a massive, wicked looking robotic scorpion burst upward through the ground, grabbing Bumblebee and pinning him to the ground, pinchers flailing wildly to take off any extremity it could. From the death grip Scorponok held onto him, trying to crush every piece of metal on his body, Bumblebee was trying desperately to transform out of his alt mode but couldn't.
Transforming, itching and ready for a good fight (was he ever!), Ironhide drew out both of his cannons and fired directly onto Scorponok's head, his cannon fire echoing deafeningly throughout the canyons around them, the plasma rays tearing right into Scorponok.
Suddenly, the roar of jet engines and helicopter rotors could be heard as the rest of the Autobots quickly transformed, drawing out their weapons, prepared for whatever lie ahead.
Seeing the Decepticon's lone road warrior, Barricade, heading toward them from around a bend, Optimus commanded, "Everyone, spread out now!"
"Bluestreak, the fliers!" Optimus yelled.
Targeting his shoulder cannons, Bluestreak fired. One, two. But the two F-22 Raptors were having none of it and dodged them brilliantly, doing acrobatic aerial combat moves that would make a human fighter pilot want to turn in his wings. Returning fire happily, they released a barrage of missiles toward the gunner, as he dove for cover trying to shield his head from all the exploding rock the missiles hit.
As Barricade transformed, the Decepticon leapt directly onto Optimus in mid air. Shaking the ground violently from their landing, Optimus fired his gun rapidly into the police car's chest, while the other Autobots were still trying to bring down the three fliers. The latter was proving to be anything but easy from the highly agile and skilled moves Starscream and Skywarp were doing interchangeably.
Retreating back a little bit, Barricade watched as his fellow Decepticon fliers dove in deep towards the Autobot leader.
"All firepower on Optimus!" Starscream commanded.
"Autobots, fire at will!" Optimus yelled out.
Positioning himself, Bluestreak's internal computer locked on to its targets. "Target acquired. System locked." And this time, he did not miss, watching both cannons take out the back rotor on Blackout and the main one as well.
"Yeehawwww!!!!" Bluestreak let out seeing his handiwork.
But before anymore rejoicing could be done, Starscream and Skywarp both released a furry of heat sinking missiles, sidewinders, and an arsenal of bullets on Optimus who had leapt in the air, managing to grab Starscream's wing bringing the Decepticon leader down as well as a huge chunk of metal.
Aiming directly at Starscream, the rest of the Autobots fired but Starscream took off for the sky again, turning around to fire again.
"JAZZ!!!" Bluestreak screamed.
Seeing the missile heading directly for Jazz, Bluestreak dove over to him, pushing the silver Autobot out of the way as he felt a burning, ripping sensation. Falling onto the ground, Bluestreak took his hands and felt underneath his armor, seeing brown liquid all over them.
"Blue!" Jazz shouted.
Quickly, Ratchet and Jazz both were at the gunner's side as Optimus, Ironhide, and Bumblebee tried to give cover fire for their injured comrade.
"Blue, can you hear me?" Ratchet asked as he pulled out a portable soddering tool to try and stop the hemorrhaging.
Bluestreak nodded.
Suddenly though, another jet was heard in the sky and when Bluestreak and the others looked up, they saw Thundercracker, swooping in with a vengeance, nose first toward Starscream. The two Decepticons swooped and circled, transforming into robot mode as they punched and fired on each other furiously in the sky and then transformed back into alt mode, circling and passing each other.
Transforming back into robot mode, and more interested in the traitor before him than any Autobot, Starscream who along with Skywarp, grabbed Thundercracker from the sky and forced him to the ground.
Seeing Barricade, Blackout, and Scorponok all seriously injured, Starscream ignored them as he stepped in front of his former comrade with Skywarp restraining him.
"Kneel, traitor. Kneel before your master and your death!"
"Kiss my grey new aft, Screamer!" Thundercracker shouted at him.
Hearing Skywarp's arm missiles heating up behind him, Thundercracker stood still.
"Kneel, TC. NOW!" Skywarp hissed.
Starscream let out an evil maniacal laugh as he saw Thundercracker get to his knees.
"I was going to save this for a lucky Autobot, but I have to say I will thoroughly and completely enjoy watching you scream in pain first as I extract your spark and take your treacherous grey new aft offline permanently!"
"Try again, Starscream!" Optimus yelled out to the Decepticon leader.
Seeing Starscream pull out his spark extractor from a ways, Bluestreak suddenly got to his feet, hydraulic and compression fluid leaking everywhere, and along with Optimus and the others, fired what little power he had left, straight at Starscream's hand, hitting the weapon effortlessly from his precision marksmanship.
And as Starscream hit the sky in total retreat, the rest of the injured Decepticons following, Bluestreak stumbled backward, collapsing. The ground below was being painted with leaking fluid, as fleeting pictures of Kate and reaching out to touch her once again flashed through his logics, his optics closing.
Musical Credit/Reference:
"Possession" Recorded and written by Sarah McGlaughlin
Author's End Notes:
While most of you have probably heard of Sigmund Freud and his work concerning the ego, id, etc. it is worth noting that the scientist Kate mentions, Alfred Kinsey, was also a famous psychologist/zoologist who wrote a detailed and highly controversial study on human sexuality called, "The Kinsey Report." In it he challenged notions on all types of sexual behaviors including homosexuality and incest. I have not read it in depth but thought the reference in this story was fitting.
Given the struggle Kate feels towards Bluestreak, her mentioning Kinsey fits in with the "oddity" of the situation she is in.
To everyone who has been leaving such enthusiastic reviews, thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me. I'm not a regular writer of fanfic and was very nervous to put this up and about my ability to tell a story that would not only be entertaining but well constructed.
K.D.B.
