Bobbi wasn't sure whether she should try to silently scold her brothers for glaring or attempt an introduction between the three of them. It didn't help that she felt oddly exposed without her helmet, which was hanging off of one of the corners of her chair out of respect, or that she felt incredibly awkward and somehow out of place here. She felt as though she shouldn't speak her mind as much as she would normally among her family, and it took the mute a few moments to realize why, and place the thought where it belonged.
She had been away from her family for far too long.
It was a strange thought, the field medic had to admit, but one she couldn't deny. Memories were a fickle thing, and they tended to seep from the mind like water through a leaky sink's pipes. Steady and slow, until they were all muddled and blurred. The mute frowned to herself. She had spent far too much time on base. The change in behavior, from dealing with her fellow soldiers, to relaxing with her family; was dramatic and confusing. Was she doing it right? How did she do this? Was it alright to ask this, or say that? Maybe she should be a little more proper? Or maybe, Bobbi thought, she should relax more?
Her eyes found Ratchet's. His blue ones deepened in color and seemed to soften at the sight of her turmoil. His silent support was more than welcome. Letting out a heavy, relieved breath, Bobbi offered him a thankful half smile before turning back to her family. This wasn't something she could force or fake, like she did on base with the assholes or even her allies. It had to come naturally. And while the war and the events on base had changed her, it hadn't changed this. This would still be here, waiting for her, when she came home. And her family would accept her; they always would. If they didn't, then they weren't really family, were they?
No, her's would always be accepting and welcome. She knew that much, and wouldn't delude herself to believe otherwise.
So when the older of her twin brothers tossed Ratchet another glare; Bobbi flicked a pea into his face. It bounced off his cheek and hit the floor, rolling away in a desperate attempt to escape the crazy siblings. She smirked for a moment, proud of her accuracy, before shooting her brother an innocent little smile. His eyes narrowed at her from their widened surprised look. "Ratchet, these are my sons, and Bobbi's brothers." Mr. Bellmark spoke up, gesturing to them, "Ethan and Nathan. Good luck figuring out which is which though. They tend to switch names and personalities at whim." The father sighed, both exasperated and amused. Nathan and Ethan merely grinned at him cheekily in response.
Ratchet nodded in greeting, "Nice to meet you." though his voice was gruff, it was friendly enough. He hadn't been blind to their negative looks, but he wasn't about to be the instigator to something that may turn violent. Maybe they'd come around to him. Maybe. The thought made him wince internally. Somehow, that seemed like wishful thinking to him. They seemed about as friendly as a wild turbo hound. As in, not at all. Still, he offered a crooked smile and tried his damndest not to irritate any of his beloved's family. Not even her brothers- who were starting to really get on his nerves. Honestly, if they weren't human…
Toasters. Yes. They'd make good toasters.
No- he quickly rectified his train of thought- he couldn't do that. Bobbi would get angry with him. No matter how irritating they may be, they were still her brothers, and he didn't think she would want toasters for brothers. The strange thought process made him blink to himself before deciding he had been spending far too much time around Wheeljack, as the crazy inventor was starting to rub off on him. It wouldn't be long now before he started talking to his tools like they were real. The thought made him inwardly shudder.
An angry Bobbi was certainly a terrifying thought.
"So Ratchet, what do you do for a living?" One of the twins- either Nathan or Ethan, he honestly couldn't tell which- inquired, looking up at him subtly from where he was picking at his mashed potatoes. Then he exchanged a look with his brother. Ah, poking for information. Trying to find something, if anything, to drive him off with. He was familiar with the tactic, as the terror twins often used it to terrorize certain other Autobots; mainly the new ones to arrive on base. So, experienced as he was with the other twins, he was able to handle this set with ease. Relative ease, at least, in any case.
"I'm the CMO on the base Bobbi works at." The medic nodded to the tiny woman at his side. For a moment, they looked a little put out at the fact that they hadn't gleamed anything worth using against him. Triumph surged through him for a moment before Mrs. Bellmark spoke up, smiling. "Oh! A CMO then? Ethan here is also in the medical field, and Nathan is a lawyer." Her pride in her sons was obvious. The two young men hunkered further down into their meals, grumbling in embarrassment, red coloring licking up their necks and onto their cheeks with a vengeance. Bobbi silently shook with laughter from beside him, and Ratchet couldn't contain the slight, crooked smile that pulled at his lips.
The meal continued in a quiet murmur, sprinkled with the frequent sound of laughter. More often than not, Ratchet was pulled into the conversations and jokes. While he felt part of the family, in a strange way- it was impossible not to, with how welcoming they were- he also felt as if he were an outsider looking in on all this. Like an intruder. By all technicalities he wasn't truly part of this family unit. It made a strange, painful ache appear in his spark chamber, and he had to fight the urge to rub the spot above it. It was both hot and cold at the same time, and made him wonder if he was getting sick or something.
No, Ratchet thought, this wasn't anything medicine could fix.
Blue eyes clashed with warm brown, and a grin greeted him in response. Bobbi's hand grabbed his from under the table, and her fingers threaded through his eagerly; skin brushing intimately in the innocent gesture. She was warm; warm and energetic. He couldn't help the answering smile, nor the slight squeezing of his own hand. Maybe he wasn't technically part of this family, and maybe a few of members of this family didn't want him to be part of it-
But Ratchet wanted to be.
With a mental brush he easily battered the thoughts aside, and returned to the conversation going on at the table. The atmosphere was easygoing and relaxed, and it wasn't long until even the human twins were nearly ignoring Ratchet and no longer glaring at him; though he knew they were far from forgetting he was there and were certainly planning something. He would have to be alert and on his guard for now. While they seemed like the terror twins, he had no idea what to expect from them, and he couldn't exactly throw a wrench at them for anything they did. It was never that easy.
Still, the meal was pleasant, and when it was over with, the others looked like they had overeaten. Ratchet bit back a scolding lecture and didn't say anything about it, though he came dangerously close. He himself felt nothing, as his holoform would merely retain the chewed up food like a container until he did something to get rid of it. He had been careful to not eat more than the hollowed out space in his stomach region could hold- he didn't want to know what happened if he had eaten more. Though Hound and Wheeljack and a few other idiotic Autobots probably knew first hand; that was something the CMO wanted no part in.
He was just thankful that those types of injuries went to the two Autobots that made the tool.
When the lunch ended, Mr. Bellmark was the first to rise to his feet, kiss his wife with a soft thank you, and lumber off back towards his chair in the living room. Nathan and Ethan nudged each other, exchanged a grin, kissed their mother's cheeks, and ran back off down the hallway with newfound purpose whilst calling a thank you over their shoulders. Somehow, the sight gave Ratchet a sense of doom. They were planning something, he just knew it. And it wasn't going to be very pleasant for him.
"You go out with Ratchet and enjoy yourself on the town, dear. I'll clean up here." Mrs. Bellmark chuckled and started ushering the medic and her daughter from their seats, grinning mischievously with a spark in her eye. Personally, it made the medic feel very unsafe. Still, he allowed her to dislodge him from his perch and get him to his feet. Bobbi, on the other hand, protested stubbornly, determined to help clean up after the meal. Her mother wouldn't hear of it, however, and refused; pushing on her in much more firm manner. "You told me you had to go to the post office to pick up our presents cause you had them shipped here. Go get them; I want to see what you got me."
Ratchet knew that wasn't the real reason. The silly grin on the old woman's face gave her away. But he didn't protest; spending time with Bobbi was always pleasant and welcomed. So, wrapping an arm around a hardheaded mute, he steered her towards the door and pulled her along. "Come on, then." The grumble only brought more noiseless arguments from the tiny woman, but the medic merely continued to drag her along and outside.
It wasn't too hard to get her into his alt form, especially since she had stopped fighting after that.
Once she was in and the seat belt had slid over and clicked into place, Ratchet shut the door and pulled himself into the driver's seat. Dismissing the holoform out in the open was a bad idea, especially in a slightly crowded neighborhood like this. And so he did everything manually, even using his holoform to clip on his own seatbelt. Though the medic didn't necessarily mind, it was still a slight pain because it meant expending a little more energy to get it done.
Clicked into place, he started his alt form up and began backing out of the driveway, glancing over at Bobbi as he did so. She was staring out the window with what he thought was an adorable irritated pout. Of course it was to be expected. The field medic was as hardheaded as he was, and equally as stubborn; and she hated when things didn't go her way. Thusly, she tended to get a little irate when he did things like dragging her away when she wanted to help. The medic resisted the urge to chuckle to himself at the mental observation that he would never utter aloud into the air around them.
It was one of Bobbi's flaws that made her undeniably her.
And Ratchet loved her for it.
He pulled out onto the main road and made sure they were going steadily down the highway before he spoke again while multitasking and using his mental GPS to figure out where in the hell the post office was. And not using Apple Maps, either- he had no desire to drive off a cliff and endanger the life of the tiny human currently residing in his passenger seat. He'd have to hurt some idiotic humans if that happened.
"That went fairly well." Ratchet's comment brought forth a glance from his mute companion before she nodded in agreement, her pout fading. It didn't surprise him; Bobbi never was one to hold a grudge or stay angry at someone for long. Not unless it was something truly insulting or horrible, that is. So something like this faded from her mind rather quickly. In a few moments, she wouldn't even remember she had ever been mad. The thought brought forth a smile from the medic as the female human silently groaned and held her stomach, huffing from the bloatedness she felt. Eating as much as she did and then getting into a vehicle? Not a good idea. Not at all. Her stomach felt as though it would burst at any moment.
This time, Ratchet couldn't contain the chuckle that left his lips, "You shouldn't've eaten so much." he chided her affectionately, smiling widely. Bobbi only shot him an accusing glare, the pout returning to her lips. Clearly, she didn't think his comment was very amusing. But Ratchet was not without mercy towards his lover. "Check the glove box; there should be something for you in the back." Shooting him a questioning look, Bobbi did as he asked and felt around in the back of the box. Ratchet's breath hitched. He had underestimated what those delicate, nimble fingers could do to him. He hadn't thought the inside of his glove box was the least bit sensitive; and he hated being wrong. Especially about things such as this.
Small fingertips brushed blindly along the back of the holding chamber, causing him to choke on nonexistent air and try desperately not to turn a dark blue. Neatly trimmed fingernails scraped lightly against the bottom innocently, searching by the sense of feel alone. Ratchet wanted to start bashing his holoform's forehead against the steering wheel of his true form. This human femme. She was going to be the death of him. Somehow- somehow, she was able to find hot spots he didn't even fragging know about and elicit such STRONG responses from him.
Oh, Primus help him if she didn't stop.
Thankfully, the torture didn't last long at all- both for the fluttering, wild beat of his spark, and the fact that he barely had enough focus to keep his holoform from dissipating- and the field medic withdrew her hand. In it was a simple bottle of medicine used to calm stomachs. Bobbi gave him an immensely thankful look before opening it and dry swallowing the required number of pills to help her problem. Ratchet could only manage a strained half smile in response as he struggled to calm himself, and hoped to Primus above that she didn't notice. He was both relieved, and disappointed. And that last part didn't give him any hope on the situation at hand. Dammit, why did she have to be so deliciously infuriating?
Turning his focus back to finding the post office, Ratchet completely turned his attention away from the tiny human who was currently twisting the cap back on the bottle. He didn't even flinch as she stuck the medicine back in his glove box and closed it. But Bobbi was not so easily dismissed and ignored. She leaned back in her seat and- Primus above help him not to snap!
The tiny mute had- in the most innocent way- trailed her fingers over a few sensitive patches of leather seating and the inside of the door. And from the looks of it, she hadn't even noticed, as if it were subconsciously done. Ratchet fought the urge to slam on the brakes, pull over and-
NO NO NO.
The CMO shook his head slightly, gripping the steering wheel until the knuckles of his holoform turned white. Somehow, the slight pain brought him back to reality, banishing the thoughts back to the back of his mind. Wrong. That was wrong. Guilt gnawed at his stomach region, but his spark slammed against its casing.
This would prove far more taxing than he had previously thought.
Why had he thought it would be a good idea to let her ride around in his alt mode again?
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Ratchet pulled into the post office's parking lot and stopped in one of the lots, shutting his engine off. Bobbi, oblivious to his internal fight, smiled warmly at him and unbuckled. He let her, without a single ounce of resistance. The CMO wasn't sure he had any fight left in him at the moment. Instead, he offered a half smile in return and unbuckled his holoform as well. And when she opened her door and swung herself out of his alt form's passenger seat, down onto the ground; he followed her on his own side. Together, they shut their doors and met in front of his ambulance form's grill.
Bobbi ran a fond hand over said grill before taking his holoform's hand with a relaxed expression and pulling him towards the post office. Though she probably didn't know it, the touch was incredibly comforting and relaxing. She had wound him up on the way there, but with a single brush, had him unwinding pleasantly. It made Ratchet marvel at how easily she could manipulate him without even knowing it. Letting out a heavy breath and thanking Primus that the tense moment had passed for now, he allowed the tiny woman to drag him along.
When they were close enough to the entrance, however, he easily stepped around her with his longer legs and pulled the door open for her. Bobbi stepped through with a mouthed 'thank you', and Ratchet followed after with a half smile. Maybe he could start enjoying himself now. Her parents liked him well enough, he might be able to win Nathan and Ethan over, and now Bobbi's mischievous little fingers were no where near the interior of his alt mode. Things seemed to be going according to plan.
And then he realized just what the inside of this 'post office' looked like, and he just about had a cow.
There were people.
Everywhere.
The CMO's scanners were even kind enough to inform him of the mass amounts of germs on every single surface available. Quickly so as not to lose Bobbi in the crowd, he grabbed onto her shoulder and began to panickedly try to steer her away from the nastier, greasier, more dangerous humans he could pick out.
This was not a good place to be.
Still, he followed her to the back of the building. The little field medic barely glanced at him when he touched her, and didn't press the issue. She seemed to understand, to an extent, and let him be. Slowly, with the doctor right on her heels, Bobbi made her way all the way to the back, where the presents she had ordered awaited.
When she stepped up to the door and signalled her name to the awaiting human, she was instantly presented with a pile of packages that Ratchet was quick to swipe from her. With how big it was, Bobbi wouldn't be able to see over or around the pile; and he knew that was a recipe for disaster. They didn't speak to her, as it was far too loud in the building- if they had it was certainly lost to the many voices trying to speak over one another. Instead, they shoved a clipboard and paper into her face and tapped the spot where she had to sign her name. The field medic obeyed and scribbled down her signature.
The moment she was free from having to do anything else, Ratchet grabbed her shoulder and steered her back towards the door, tensed, pile of presents in his other arm. He couldn't wait to get out of this damned hell hole. Honestly, what if Bobbi caught something from this? When Bumblebee had told him it was busy during the holidays and it was an opportune time for humans to get ill, he had thought he was halfway joking or at least overexaggerating. Now he knew the full extent of the truth.
Ratchet didn't think he was going to be able to enjoy himself very much at all during this little… vacation.
(AN: WARNING! This chapter has NOT been revised or proofread or ANYTHING.
Ugh. This was supposed to be posted DAYS ago. But then school snuck up on me and started and mom wants a punch of essays and placement testing done right off the bat. Bleugh. On top of that, Kiwi, my mother's 400 dollar prized conure- and her baby- flew out the door a couple days ago. I had opened the door to come in and he went past my head.
We searched for several hours. Long story short, I watched a bird I THOUGHT was Kiwi get mauled and killed by a dog and ended up with some fucked up arms and hands, and had to deal with a stupid cop. This made typing VERY difficult. So I apologize for the lateness of this chapter and the not so good quality.
The next one will be better.
Since the swelling of my knuckles has gone down and my arms have somewhat healed, I'll get back to writing now, otays? Otays. :D Let's get back to doing the thing!
Leave me a review, yeah? ^^~