CHAPTER 29
New Feelings
Riley woke up in a strange bed, in an even more strangely grey room. Though it only took him moments to remember he had been taken to Ironhide's home the night before. Groaning a bit, he turned over onto his side and climbed from the human sized bed calmly. What a human bed was doing in Ironhide's home he couldn't be sure, but he didn't question it either. He swayed a bit, his body tired beyond belief, after all, after being up until at least four in the morning due to the events of the night before. He exited the room and out into a long hallway slowly.
The first thing he noticed about Ironhide's home was that it was a little more small and cozy. Riley had a feeling that wherever the old mech lived, it was in a very rural area. The second thing he noticed, as he stepped into the kitchen at the end of the hallway, was the light blue female Autobot washing out an empty energon cube in the large sink. Riley shrunk back a bit, his shyer side getting the better of him as the femme turned to him with a smile. "Ah, so you're finally up, huh?" Riley stared at her "Don't worry, I'm a friend. I'm Chromia, Ironhide's spark mate." Riley relaxed at that "Ironhide's just out for a moment." She added.
"I didn't know Ironhide had a wife." Riley replied, using the human term instead "Sorry, after last night I'm just jumpy and..." He looked up "You can never be too sure." He added.
Chromia chuckled, nodding her head a little and wiping off her metal fingertips with a massive washcloth. "I figured, since you're new to Optimus's family, I take it this is your first rodeo?" Riley nodded his head a little "Ours too with human kids. We were just lucky we had a room set up for a couple of them." She noted, then shrugged "Just in case." She added.
"In case, what?" Riley questioned.
Chromia looked as though she almost didn't want to answer that question. Riley knew that look, a woman always had the same look on her face when they couldn't have kids. Though Riley didn't know if a robot could be infertile, considering they had sparklings, he supposed it did make sense that some of them couldn't have any. "We've talked about Fostering ourselves, a time or two." Chromia replied absently "We can't... Well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks." She added.
"If it makes you feel any better, neither can my Uncle."
Chromia faked a smile in Riley's direction, shaking her head quietly. "I'm not sure it does, but I appreciate the reassurance." She replied kindly "I don't think I'll ever feel "okay" about it until the time comes we fill that room." She explained.
"Probably not even then." Riley muttered under his breath.
Though he had only been in Chromia's presence a short while, he already could tell he was going to like her. There was a certainly motherly side mixed with the presence of a warrior's spirit that he liked. Though Riley had been too young to remember what his Mother was like, Chromia fit well the mold of what he expected an Autobot one to be. The sound of a door opening grabbed his attention as Ironhide entered the room. "Good mornin'." Ironhide greeted, forcing a smile himself "Sleep well?" He asked.
"For as long as I slept."
"You slept until 2: 30, I think you had plenty of sleep." Chromia teased.
Riley's eyebrows cocked up in surprise, but sure enough as he checked a wall clock it was indeed just turning 2: 40 as they spoke. "Sorry, I'm not usually that bad. i guess it was just all the "excitement" last night." Riley explained, he turned his head towards Ironhide "Are we in France?" Riley questioned, Ironhide shook his head "Where do you live then?" He questioned.
"Our current location is a small town known as Bruckner." Ironhide explained "It's in Oregon." He added.
"I never took you as the small town type." Riley chuckled.
Chromia laughed at that, shaking her head as Ironhide seated himself at a Transformer-sized table with a grunt. She patted her bonded's shoulder gently, as if to calm him down, and then trained her eyes on Riley. "He isn't. I liked it for the peace, he's have to drag me kicking and screaming if we moved to France." Chromia placed her hands on her hips "It's why he didn't take the job, it's just not my scene, as you'd put it." She added.
Ironhide turned to the young human, grinning playfully from receptor-to-receptor. "You'll learn sometime in your life that you can never argue with your "wife". Ye just never win." He said quietly as Riley laughed quietly "You hungry their short-stuff? We gotcha some of that "cereal" since we have no clue what ye like." He added "But it's lunch so you may be more up to fixing yourself a sandwich." He added.
"Really, I'm fine." Riley held up a hand "I don't even usually have more than a piece of toast."
"Oohhhh no." Chromia spoke up as she made her way towards the boy "That's not gonna fly in my house, youngling. As far as I'm concerned, it's three square meals a day for all of us." She pointed towards a small cabinet and added "Now go get something to eat before I pick something for you." She added.
Riley had a feeling that the last thing he wanted to do was argue with the femme. Taking a deep breath, he dragged a box of Fruity Pebbles from the cabinet, holding it up in a "Happy?"-ish manner, and seated himself down at the single human-sized table where he found a bowl and milk already set out. "Ye see? You learned faster than even I did." Ironhide grinned at him playfully, yet again "Never argue with Chromia." She added.
"Damn straight." Riley heard the femme as she headed into another room.
It was a lesson that Riley made a mental note that he should not soon forget.
...
It was later in the day that Riley really got the hang of things in Ironhide's home. The rules were simple enough, he ate when they did, the TV was open to him to do with what he liked, Ironhide's office, which had many weapons was off-limits. It was all very simple, to say the least, but a bit different than how he was used to things being in the Prime household. As he looked over the video library they had, he quickly realized that was even more different than the rules. The movies were mostly old, or action shoot-'em-ups. Which ones belonged to whom, Riley found easy to determine.
"If ye want a good one..." Riley leapt out of his skin and whirled around to find Ironhide had entered the den "I could recommend a few to you." He added.
"You're into movies too then?" Riley questioned.
Ironhide nodded in reply, a smile crossing his face, as if to say he was a big one. Riley had never taken the big mech to be the type to sit down and watch one movie, let alone several. But the more he was around the Autobots, the more he was beginning to realize looks were very deceiving. "It's the part of the human culture that I find the most fascinating." Ironhide explained "Chromia doesn't watch 'em much. She'd much rather be out for a drive or blowing something up." He noted.
"Wouldn't you too?" Riley crossed his arms playfully.
There was a twinkle in the optic that stared directly at Riley, and a hearty laugh. Riley was surprised by that too, he had been so sure that Ironhide would smack him across the room for such a quip. "Of course I would. Doesn't mean I can't appreciate fine art as well." Ironhide's holoform appeared and traced his fingers along the line of movies "You a big movie fan yourself, Riley?" He asked.
"A huge one." Riley replied "The old films are the best though." He added.
"Of course they are." Ironhide chuckled "I like them best too, they can provide some peace in a... Not so peaceful time." Ironhide explained "And if you want a really good one..." He gently tugged a movie out of the library "You'll plop yourself down on that couch and enjoy Sunset Boulevard." He chuckled.
"What's that one about?" Riley questioned.
Ironhide grinned coyly, looking over the DVD cover for the first time in a while. "A lot of things, love, intrigue, mystery, murder..." Ironhide could tell he already had Riley's attention "It's not the fastest film, but it does do a good job of grabbing my attention. So it must be good." He noted as he popped the film in.
Riley sat himself down on the couch as Ironhide soon joined him, seating himself next to him. Riley didn't remember much of what happened after that, though he could remember the movie was good, really good. All he knew was that by the time it was over, Ironhide found a still very sleepy sixteen year old having finally collapsed onto his lap. The old mech chuckled a bit, stroking his hair calmly as Chromia entered. "Now that's a cute sight I could get used to." Chromia teased.
Ironhide rolled his holoform's eyes a tiny bit, chuckling. "We'll foster when the time's right, sweetspark, try not to rush things, will ye?" Ironhide chuckled, shifting a bit.
"Still a cute sight. You seem to be enjoying it too, you know." Chromia winked.
Ironhide sighed quietly, clearing his throat a bit, as if she had just taken his mechhood away from him by saying that. "Eh, so what if I am? He ain't ours, he's Optimus's, I'm just the babysitter." Ironhide yawned tiredly himself, leaning back "I'm not sure what I'd be like with a kid I didn't actually know." He added, his chuckle low.
Riley shifted a bit in Ironhide's lap, his head rested against his chest lightly. He could hear what they were saying, though he had to admit, he wasn't sure what to make of it. He oddly liked this too, the situation as a whole, it was a comfortable one, a more homely one. He could feel it, but he tried his best to push the thoughts aside, he loved Optimus, Jasper, with him, with his friends was home, he told himself. With his Uncle. The Uncle who abandoned you. Riley reminded himself.
He knew that Optimus's home had been home for the past five months. But somehow, as strange as it was, after a day, this felt like home too.
...
A/N: If you didn't see that coming, neither did I. It was just a new thing in the mix I had thought up while thinking over my ideas last night. What'll happen? Where does Riley's true home lie? You guys will just have to read on to find out!
