Title: Immolation (Part 37/100)
Prompt: "Classmates"
Verse: G1 (AU)
Rating: PG-13
Words: 416
Pairings: Inferno/Red Alert
Other Characters: OC family and friends of rape survivors.
Warnings: Sticky.
Disclaimer: Do not own Transformers, or any of the official characters, do not get paid for doing this except with reviews.
Summary: Red Alert attends an information session for family, friends and partners of rape survivors, given by the local rape crisis centre.
Notes: A continuation of my series of interlinked vignettes on the theme of Inferno being raped, and how he and Red Alert deal with it, centred around prompts from slash_100.
As always, the human OCs are completely from my own imagination, and any resemblance to individuals alive or dead is merely coincidence.
Groon – 1 hour.
Astrosecond - ≈.273 seconds
Orbital cycle: 1 day
Solar cycle: 1 year.
Classmates
They sat in the huge, unheated warehouse, still wearing their outdoor clothing, some of them seeming to glare resentfully at the newcomer who had necessitated this inhospitable location.
"I don't see what he's doing here," a tall, blonde haired woman whispered, unaware of just how acute his hearing was. "Don't they have their own groups or something?"
Red Alert debated addressing the malcontent, tersely informing her of the fact that he had heard every single one of the complaints she had voiced about him since she'd arrived, but he was out of his element, among strangers, and in this uncertain environment he hated stirring up confrontation. The fact that he was five times her size, and able to kill her with one hand, did not bolster his confidence in any way.
The red and white mech shifted on his skidplate, unconsciously drawing his knees up in a pathetically hopeless effort to make himself appear smaller. Escape was still possible, he reminded himself, nothing had started yet. He could transform and be out the door before anyone could say anything else.
Unexpectedly, a voice finally rose to his defence. "'They'," remarked an East Indian man in a blue turban who had until that moment been sitting in silence, "might be made of metal, but inside they are the same as you and me. You know what happened to his friend..."
"His partner," someone hissed. "Didn't you see it on the news, when they brought Inferno back from wherever he had run off to? You don't freak out like that over someone unless they're really important to you."
"Friend or partner," the turbaned man continued, "what does it matter? He has as much right to be here as any of us."
Just then a grey haired woman emerged from the office area of the warehouse, walking up to the podium that had been set up near two portable chalkboards. "Welcome everyone," she said in a strong, clear voice, "to today's lecture, but first a little information about our group: we are Survivor Support Services Portland, a resource and support centre for survivors of sexual assault. No matter who you are," her eyes darted quickly to where Red Alert sat and she gave him an encouraging smile, "if sexual assault has impacted your life we will be here for you. Tonight's topic is sexual assault and its impact on family, friends and partners of survivors..."