I edited this, but knowing me I probably missed a typo here or there T-T
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"Please no." this was the fourth time Katalyn said those very words, her eyes pleading as she stared up at Lennox`s unamused expression. It had been a week since her rough arrival to NEST and now here she was in his office. The fact that she made it past a few days was startling to her, she honestly expected Soundwave to be hiding behind every pillar, simply waiting to take her away. Slowly, she was beginning to relax, slowly stopping her odd habit of checking every corner, staring into every shadow. She was beginning to feel safe, in a strange way, she was beginning to feel a sense of belonging. She understood how this unit worked now, she understood the family-like bond that held the Autobots and the NEST agents.
"You`ll be perfectly safe." Lennox insisted, clearly a little offended at her lack of trust towards his favourite Autobot. Little did the man know, it wasn`t mistrust that kept Katalyn pleading for him to rethink his idea. Long story short, the girl was in dire need of new clothing, and other… feminine products for that matter. The NEST base was a strict, military facility, and it expected it`s soldiers to bring their necessities with them. For obvious reasons, Katalyn didn`t bring a suitcase handy when she was dragged out of her aunt`s apartment and into Lennox`s hands. So, the girl was in need of supplies, supplies which meant her leaving the base, and leaving the base meant trouble.
"Just take Ironhide with you, he won`t let anything happen." Lennox found himself convincing her for the fifth time now. "`Hides kept me safe through hell and back. You can count on him Kat."
"Please. No."
"Why not?" Lennox frowned again, wondering what she had against the best Cybertronian weapons specialist around.
"It`s… complicated." The girl glanced away, looking fairly suspicious as she gave the vague answer.
If there was one thing Lennox had learned from his time around women, it was that there was no point in fighting them. They were annoyingly impossible; his years of marriage had taught him that.
"Well you can`t go alone." Lennox raised a finger at her, as if explaining a very firm rule to a very disobedient child. "You need Autobot protection."
"Someone else then, anyone else." Katalyn pleaded, managing an apologetic smile as Lennox grew more offended by the second.
"`Bee and the others are on a scouting mission." The soldier sighed, slumping back in his office chair. It was quite odd seeing the colonel in anything but military gear, with a gun strapped to his waist, and two Cybertronians on either side of him. Autobot, or Decepticon for that matter. But there he was, in nothing more than a plain tee and sweat pants as he lounged on the swivel chair.
"Which others?" Katalyn asked.
"Everyone but `Hide, Ratchet, and Prime." Lennox explained, "Hide would be more than capable of escorting you…"
"No."
The soldier sighed again before continuing, "Ratchet isn`t a soldier Kat… And Prime, well, he`ll do whatever we need him to. But where do you expect to park a truck?! It`s a mall after all."
"I`ll think of something." she offered.
"Can`t say I can picture the big guy heaving shopping bags around." Lennox mumbled.
"I don`t think I can either." The girl glanced down at her lap now as she sat across from Lennox. She felt almost spoiled, demanding to drag any Autobot she pleases around as she shops with money that she hadn`t even earned. But what choice did she have? Ratchet wasn`t bodyguard material, and Ironhide…. Well, she wasn`t ready to deal with that story just yet. Optimus was the only real option. She didn`t want to be a human burden in his eyes, but what could she do at this point.
"But I bet the look will suit him, everything does." She said with a smile, one that Lennox regrettably returned with a shake of his head.
"Fine."
X
Katalyn felt a strange mix of awkward, confident, and hungry as she exited the department store and walked onto the long, white halls that made up the local mall. She felt awkward due to the lack of conversation she was managing to pull off with the human-sized Prime beside her. She also felt awkward considering he was in fact holding her shopping bags, ever the gentlemen. Her feeling of confidence arose from the same thing that brought on the awkwardness. She was walking beside him, and it was no secret that he made quite an attractive holoform. She caught the looks people gave them, and her ego laughed manically at the thought of people thinking them a couple. Last but not least was her feeling of hunger, and that however was quite self-explanatory.
Their little venture had been rather quiet, she felt too guilty and troublesome to start a conversation during the drive, and so everything had been… well, awkward. Now here she was, finished most of her shopping with a warrior in tow. The lack of conversation and guilt was gnawing at her and at this point she just needed to say something.
"I`m sorry." Katalyn said quickly, glancing at him as he returned her apologetic expression with confused, electric blue eyes.
"I… don`t understand." he spoke in his usual baritone, but by now Katalyn was very accustomed to it.
"You`re a leader, a soldier, a goddamn hero." She was sure to keep her voice down, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. "Here I am dragging you along like a chauffeur. So, yeah, sorry…"
"It`s a welcome break from my usual worries." He managed a small smile, one that the girl simply had to return. "The second break you`ve given me actually."
"Well, that`s relieving." She managed to say before coming to a stop near the railings that gave way to a view of the lower floors food court. The escalator was mere steps away, and Katalyn silently gestured towards it, watching Prime`s blue eyes narrow as he examined it. "They scare me." Katalyn found herself speaking before thinking, she was actually trying her best to watch what she said in front of Optimus, but this was clearly one of her slip-ups. "The escalator I mean, they used to scare me."
"Are they dangerous?" he asked, almost looking interested in her answer.
"Well… no, I don`t think so." Katalyn smirked at how stupid she probably sounded. "I walked in on my mom watching some horror film once, final destination I think. Yeah, not sure. Um, but, I was only six, and in the film the girls leg gets caught in the escalator, it was horrifying really. There was blood stains everywhere as it ate up her leg. I know it`s a movie and all, but, I was just a kid. The fear kind of stuck around."
"Are you afraid now?"
"No, of course not. I got over it." Kat said before stepping in front of the Prime, hesitantly making her way to the escalator below her. She looked down at the moving machine carefully, watching each step come and go, not yet climbing aboard. Her hand gripped the railing first, her right foot moving to catch a step before her left foot rushed to catch up. She almost sighed as she settled into her little step, still holding the railing as Optimus easily slid on behind her. She wasn`t scared, not really, not anymore, but there was always a little hesitation that came with each descent and ascent.
"You won`t mind if I get a little snack?" she asked as the escalator neared its end, revealing the crowded, and bustling food court below.
"Not at all."
It wasn`t long before Katalyn found herself sitting across Optimus, carefully eating the fries laid in front of her. She would have preferred a larger, heartier meal like a burger, or noodles for that matter. But for some strange reason she didn`t want to eat something messy in front of the Autobot. So, she opted for fries. At least they were good fries. She was already whirring with conversation ideas, trying to figure out a topic to discuss when Optimus took the burden away.
"You hesitated on the escalator." He stated the words rather calmly. His tone wasn`t insulting nor amused, instead he seemed a mix of concerned and curious.
"Did I?" she said before nibbling on one of her fries.
"A weakness is not something to be ashamed of." He said rather seriously, and Kat once again caught his eyes. It was almost irritating how easily those blue eyes would hold her, making her forget again and again how to form coherent sentences. His holoform was unfairly handsome, and the more she noted his tousled dark hair, strong features, and tall frame, the more she felt out of place across from him. She probably looked like a mess, still dressed in some tiring soldier garb, with her tangled hair tied back behind her. Without a doubt, the moment she got back to base she would be having a proper, thorough shower followed by a fresh layer of clothing. Heck, she even bought a hairbrush from the dollar store just to get herself on track.
"That`s easy for you to say." Katalyn quickly reminded herself of the current conversation, her eyes finding their way back to her fries. "You don`t have any weaknesses."
"As much as it pains me to say, that is not entirely true."
"Let me guess, you`re too honourable or something?" the girl scoffed, "Some weakness that is."
"My sense of nobility has cost many lives." The Prime, unlike Katalyn, was quite serious as he spoke. "The moment a Decepticon repents, is the moment I welcome them into my team. The moment they ask for mercy is the moment I put my weapon down. Even now I would, even now they would only betray me in the end."
"You got them back in the end though, right?"
"Every time." He almost smiled before the serious tone took over, "Always at a cost."
"Some could argue that`s a strength." Kat mumbled, "Your excessive sense of nobility that is."
Optimus didn`t say anything right away, and so Katalyn continued with another question: "Tell me another weakness, a better one."
"I have trouble hiding my emotions." His voice was a bit quieter now too, still deep and rumbling, but far quieter. "My face mask, it prevents my enemies from seeing my hesitation. Over the decades, after so much warfare, I have learned to managed to improve."
"Honourable and emotional, my, my how has Megatron not killed you yet." Katalyn said jokingly, but the Prime only watched her quietly.
"Well, Ratchet says I`m stubborn." Optimus added after a moment and Katalyn only continued to smile.
"You know, you don`t look human." The girl stated after munching on a few more fries. "The eyes give it away, they`re too… I don`t even have the words, bright, lively, out of this world?"
"Strangely when I am in this form… I do feel human." He was looking down at his hand, which lay flat against the table, his pointer finger tapping against the hard surface as he watched it. Katalyn wasn`t sure what possessed her but she ran a finger across his hand, noting that he did indeed feel human. She turned it over quietly, and he didn`t argue as she placed her hand against his palm, running her fingers across his fingertips, searching for some sign, searching for something that differentiated him from a normal human. All she noticed though was how rough his skin felt, hardened and scratchy from the warfare he had suffered through a different body.
It seemed the holoform was more human than she wanted to give it credit for, it was also more him than she thought. The scratchiness of his fingertips gave it away, the holoforms body had probably never suffered through what Prime himself had, yet it seemed like it had. She silently wondered if she would hear the humming of metal in place of a heartbeat if she leaned close against his chest. She wondered if he would like the feel of her hands running through his hair as Soundwave did, would the Prime crave and enjoy her touch as much as that Decepticon did.
"Do you feel everything?" she asked rather innocently.
"I do." He said almost thoughtfully, as if he too was testing the holoforms limits.
"Does it feel real?" she continued, "As real as touch does in your… robot form?"
"It is referred to as a Bipedal form. Our sensors extend into our holoforms, the signals they send register in our bipedal form. Ratchet is far better at explaining it than I, but I do feel. You are very soft Katalyn, it is strange, I have yet to grow accustomed to such a human feeling."
"I`m guessing Cybertronians don`t feel too soft." The girl commented as she slowly slid her hand away, hoping he didn`t find her curiosity unsettling.
"Not usually…" the Prime paused to clear his throat, his eyes seeming to refocus as he steadied his gaze on their surroundings. "Are you ready to return to base?"
"As ready as I`ll ever be." The girl leaned back in her chair, putting a bit of distance between herself and the table. "I`m starting to get used to it, NEST and all… but, when is it going to be over? When you kill him?"
"I do not take any pleasure in killing Decepticons." The Prime stood up now, once again reminding Katalyn of just how tall he was. "Yet I fear that is the only option. I promised you protection, and I will keep my word."
"I don`t want anyone to die though…" Kat stared at her lap, feeling as stupid as ever as she said those words. It was inevitable, yet here she was, defending him till the bitter end.
"Nor do I." the Prime only stared for a moment, trying to think of what to do. His mind scrolled the internet, looking under the keywords of 'providing reassurance'. He finally settled on the rather innocent gesture of placing his hand on her shoulder. "This is not your battle Katalyn, do not make it your battle."
"Yeah, sure, I`ll try." She didn`t sound quite convinced but regardless she stood up, forcing the holoform to remove his hand as she collected her bags. The Prime silently wondered if he had upset her, if he had ruined the rather pleasant tone they were conversating in. Those thoughts were quickly dismissed though as she smiled at him, her brown eyes lighting up as she offered him her bags. He couldn`t help but be a little amused as he took the bags, finding no issue in carrying them as she tossed her empty food container into the nearest trash receptacle.
"By the way, you can call me Kat."
"Kat." He said the word rather innocently, and Katalyn quietly laughed at how strange it sounded to hear him say her name.
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Nothing like good ole filler, but hey, this filler is important to the eventual plot bunnies coming their way. Anyways, I recently realized something that quite literally throws my previous plans for this story into disarray. Kat is only 17…. woops. I should have made her older, but alas I can`t go back and change that. Luckily there are two years in between the first and second movie, so she`ll be 19 by the time ROTF begins. So what does that mean? It means sexy times are put on hold until then, because she`s a bit too young as of now. At least that gives me more than enough time to develop her relationship with Optimus. So, the next few chapters (and I`ve actually got a bunch of fluffy ideas lined up), will have plenty of time jumps in between them so that we can get through two years in a moderate amount of chapters.
ANYWAYS, more importantly, please, please, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE review. I keep worrying that my Prime is too out of character, mostly due to dialogue. I also worry that Kat is inconsistent, I try to give her certain speech patterns, but characters are so difficult to keep consistent. So, please, all feedback, criticism, and comments appreciated. Nothing would make me happier, and believe me when I tell you I read and consider every word you guys say :3