Emma had to admit, the Transformer wasn't that bad. Not after she actually tried to see over her anger. After the initial shock had finally worn out a bit, she found that he was actually quite a good listener. And even though Emma tried to deny it, asking him questions and finding out more about him was actually a good way to spend time during the long drive.
And now she knew more about him. He had been a low class soldier in the Decepticon army, a foot soldier, nothing more. Earth wasn't the first planet he had been assigned, he had been sent all over the galaxy with his comrades while the search for the AllSpark had been at its highest.
What terrified her most was to realize how old he actually was. He was ancient. He had been out there when her grandparents hadn't even been born yet. He had been fighting and killing even before human civilization had been properly formed. Her mind couldn't even wrap itself around that fact. He was an ancient being and yet there he was, driving her home.
Half way through the journey her stomach started to growl. She could swear the car was laughing at her when she tried to cover the noise her body was making.
"Oh ha ha", she grumbled. "Could we take a break? I'd like to stretch my legs some."
Without saying a word he took the next exit from the motorway. Emma wasn't sure where they were going exactly but she guessed the robot had some kind of a GPS there somewhere. After a five minute drive they came to a rest stop at the edge of a small lake.
She loved lakes. Had always loved. She remembered how when she had been younger and Lesley hadn't even been born yet they had used to spend summers at a lake near her grandparents. They had built the biggest sandcastle ever – or so it had seemed at the time.
As soon as the car stopped, Emma jumped out and ran to the water line. Not hesitating for a second she took her shoes off and tossed them aside to get to the water. After rolling up her pant legs she got knee deep into the water. She sighed with a smile cupping her hands to lift some water to cool her face. It felt nice to feel the chilling waves hit her feet. Her skin got goose bumps. How long had it been since she had visited a place like this? Too long, that was for sure. The last time must have been while the whole family had still been… well, whole.
Behind her she could hear the car transform and walk closer. For some reason she didn't want to see him in his bipedal mode, she wanted to tell herself that he was just a car. It was getting harder and harder to make herself believe that.
"Are you sure you want to come that close to water? Aren't you afraid you're going to rust?" she asked facing the lake rather than him.
He was laughing at her know but wasn't getting closer to the shore. Maybe he didn't like water after all.
"I used to go to the beach with mom," she said quietly, almost certain that the alien couldn't hear her over the waves. "Before Lesley was born. We did things together all the time, you know. We were like best friends."
She heard the groan of the metal, the Transformer or whatever they called themselves was getting closer again. She took a peek over her shoulder to see him looking at the waves warily.
Turning to finally face him she took in the sight of him. That thing was huge. Even when he was crouched over like he was currently, trying to avoid the water at the same time he was trying to get closer, he was a giant compared to her.
"When I heard mommy – I mean to say mom – was pregnant with Lesley, I was really jealous at first. I didn't want anyone to come and mess up what we had. I was only… Was I only ten at the time? A real mommy's girl I was. I didn't want a small baby stealing her attention."
The alien stopped struggling with the water and sat back on his haunches. When he hunched back like that he was almost on a same level as her. Emma couldn't help but smile at him.
"The first year was awful," she said turning her back to the Transformer. "I was acting like a real brat, trying to get mommy's attention all to myself. I was always crying and screaming like I was the baby, not Lesley. It all calmed down though, after dad sat me down and we had a little chat." She laughed bitterly. "Back then we were still able to talk about things that mattered. Then of course there was the incident. You know the story. I was fourteen back then. Going through my puberty. Mom had been there, helping me through it all. We had been getting close again. Like before. And then… Wham. She was gone."
The waves were splashing against her feet and she forced back a sob that was trying to climb up her throat.
"I… I don't know what came over me after that. I… I… I didn't know what to do. I was so lost and… I shut myself out. I didn't talk, I didn't want to. I just wanted to… I don't even know what I wanted but I clearly didn't get it. And Lesley and dad seemed to be getting along so nicely and I got bitter and – "
She was shocked when sharp claw-like talons wrapped around her waist and lifted her up from the water. She was brought before the unnatural face of the monster that had played a convincing role of an immobile car. Those rage-red eyes were staring keenly at her and for a second she thought she could see compassion in them. A second was enough. She wrapped her hands around his metallic face and started to cry again. And he didn't complain. He didn't pull her away or toss her back to the ground. He just was there. Comforting her. Humming softly.
Yeah. He wasn't that bad. After you gave him a chance. Emma rested her head against his and felt the warmth of the metal calming her senses. She didn't want to say anything to ruin the moment. She didn't want to remind herself what she was hugging at the moment. So she closed her eyes.
She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. Neither of them moved in quite a while. But after some time they could hear other cars approaching the rest stop. Not feeling like staying to meet new people Emma was placed on the ground while the giant robot got back to his car form. She got in, remembering she hadn't eaten the lunch she had been given by Anna. But it didn't seem to matter. She could always eat in him on the way. She doubted he would mind.
