I'M SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT!
I know you guys are used to me updating every day or two, so I'm sorry that you guys have had to wait for this chapter. Truth be told, I've been pretty busy the last few days and haven't had a lot of time.
Also, I've developed a little bit of RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) in my wrists, so sometimes it hurts to type if I do it too much. That's why I tried to take a couple of days to give them a break hahaha.
I will still be keeping my updates regular, but just don't stress if occasionally it takes me a few days longer to do so; because I am NOT going to stop this story, even if I were to die I would negotiate with the devil so that you guys can keep reading ;)
Anyhow, this chapter is a little bit of filler; but it includes a little glimpse into Tessa's childhood. As most of you have probably guessed, she's very family oriented and she's not like a lot of OC's where her family is either dead, or horrible to her. Hers is a tight-knit and loving family who care about each other; and I personally think this makes for a nice change of pace amongst fanfiction.
Throughout the 3 year gap between ROTF and DOTM, I will be including several chapters that involve flash-backs like this one, or events involving her family; because I want to primarily develop Tessa as a character on her OWN; not just who she is when she'd with Optimus. She has was her own person before she met him, and I wanted to demonstrate that she CAN exist without him.
Unlike certain Stephanie Meyer books where the lead female *cough*BellaspawnofallMarySuesSwan*cough* has no integrity outside of the male lead *cough**cough* and would die without each other (and tried to do so hahaha)
Optimus and Tessa are separate beings, and although they gravitate towards one another and will be a romancing couple, each of them existed individually before meeting; and so they have their OWN personalities. Not every waking moment of their thoughts has to revolve around each other; even if they do think of each other often (they're romantically involved, that's only natural)
ANYWAY! Sorry again about the long wait, and sorry about the even LONGER Author's Note *cough*rant*cough* hahaha.
ENJOY THE CHAPTER!
P.S. The genre has now been changed to Romance/Family instead of Romance/Friendship; because the sense of family interactions is stronger now :)
The drive home was content between the two of them.
Optimus had taken Tessa back to base to retrieve her things, before they headed back towards her residence. However since neither of them wanting to part ways just yet, they agreed to go for a brief drive, stop at a gas station to fill the Autobot's fuel tank and then she would go home. Tess, who had recovered from her momentary nap earlier; was now perfectly awake as they drove through the dark. The mechanic's fingers caressed to leather seating in a contented and relaxed manner; the passenger seat beside her was vacant of the earlier present Holoform but she didn't mind. It was the real Optimus whose company she enjoyed, not some physical illusion that allowed them "human" moments; she liked being with him in his two true forms.
Very briefly, her mind flickered back to when they had arrived on base to collect her bag; Optimus had chosen to stay close to her while she retrieved her things by keeping the Peterbilt rolling behind her. She just knew that the others could see something different between the two of them; not that she cared in the slightest, she just knew that there was going to be teasing…particularly from Sideswipe and Ironhide. The two Autobots had become her surrogate brothers at the base; a relationship she often missed with her real ones due to distance and busy schedules.
"You know, Sides and Ironhide are going to have a field day teasing us about this." She said softly, her head rested against the seat as she smiled at the thought.
Optimus was silent for a moment before he spoke to her from the radio speakers, "I will have a word with them. You will not be harassed about-"
"-Oh no, no, no Chief!" she said quickly, placing a hand on the steering wheel with a laugh, "I didn't mean it like that! I was just saying that we should expect it; but don't tell them not to comment about it. You can't stop family from being family; it's what they do."
"…What do you mean?"
Tucking her ankles under the lip of the seat, she grinned into the rear-view mirror as she spoke to him. "I mean…they're like family to both of us. They remind me so much of my brothers…and brothers are supposed to tease you and say silly things." Tess felt a reminiscent smile slide across her features, unable to avoid doing so as the wonderful memories of her beloved and annoying siblings crossed her mind, "Then you get to tease them back when they have something to make fun about; it's what families do. No matter how much you may fight or argue, you've always got each other's backs…"
She heard a chuckle rumble its way up the line, the sound reverberating through the speakers around her; Optimus had not missed the fondness in her voice; nor did he miss the irony of their opposing situations.
He and his brother, Megatron and himself…
They had been warring for centuries, and there was no turning back from that; there was no 'got your back' situation between them. Nor would there ever be. To hear her speak so fondly, so warmly of those that she called 'brother' was intriguing and relieving.
He wanted to hear more...to have her tell him about the way brothers were supposed to be... Although he was not usually one to enquire as to personal affairs, he realized that considering the much more…intertwined nature of his relationship with Tessa; he was more entitled to the privilege of her more personal stories. Besides…he was curious. "You speak from experience?" he asked gently.
As expected, her smile broadened. "Absolutely. I grew up with two brothers; and both of them were older. We used to fight all the time when we were kids, but I just loved them so much; I still do. We could never fight for very long before we'd turn everything into good fun." She giggled at the thought; there were so many good times between the three of them.
"Tell me about them." Optimus said quietly, enjoying the simple sound of her voice more than anything; he could listen to her speak for the rest of his life. Her feminine, slightly scratchy voice had become a familiar sound to him since her first arrival at N.E.S.T, and was one that he would remember for the rest of his days. Tess, thinking about his request, was propping her finger on her chin; trying to think of something specific.
"Let's see…I'm trying to think of one that doesn't involve me swimming naked in a paddle pool…"
Optimus fought very hard with himself not to laugh at her obliviousness to her statement. She was looking deep in the recesses of her own mind, completely ignorant of the fact that she'd said anything even remotely funny.
"Oh! I know! I'll tell you about Barbeque Day!"
The Prime made a confused stammer before reminding her of their cultural difference, "Barbeque Day? This is…some sort of ceremonial remembrance, I assume?"
Tess snorted before patting the dashboard playfully, watching out the windscreen as the truck turned off the main highway, "No, no. More like…a family gathering; an eating tradition. Barbeques are when humans get together and spend the day outside; cooking meat on an open grill fire which is called the barbeque. That's what the whole thing is named after. When we were kids, every Sunday my dad would make lunch for us out in the back yard; he always used to get side-tracked somehow and overcook the steaks, and Mom always made the most amazing potato salad for us…"
It wasn't long before Tessa began to relive every detail, taking Optimus into the memory with her…
"Aaron! Give it back or I'm telling Dad on you!" Tess squealed, chasing after her older brother.
The middle sibling had thought it would be funny to take off with his sister's toy truck; a present from their Gran for her 7th birthday earlier that year. The mischievous little 12-year-old found her anger funny; he was constantly teasing her about not doing 'normal girl stuff' no matter how upset she would get with him.
"But I want to look at it!" he said with a cheeky grin, ducking away from the scruffy little girl as she jumped at him.
Flashing him an angry expression, she screwed up her face, put on her saddest voice and wailed, "RILEY!"
A swift hand came down onto the back of Aaron's head, earning a yelp from the young boy. The two siblings looked up to see 15-year-old Riley with his hand raised behind his younger brother's head; his expression one of annoyed calm. Riley was glancing over at their father who was distracted by the loud hissing of meat cooking on the grill; unaware of the spat going on between his two younger children.
"Give her back the truck doofus; it was from Gran." He said sternly, "You know Dad will wallop you one if he finds out you two are fighting again. You don't even play with trucks, man; you're too old for them."
Aaron gave a sarcastic huff, looking up at his older brother. "So? She should still share-"
"-Oh yeah? How about I go and get your Gameboy and lend it to her; since you're so intent on sharing?" Riley teased, crossing his arms over his chest in a 'matter-of-fact' way.
The middle brother's face fell immediately before he shot out his hand to the auburn haired child, the truck in his grips falling into her arms. "Fine. Here, Terry; take it."
Tess, whose face was streaked with dirt and her knees stained from grass, scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue with an 'ew' expression. "Terry is a boy's name, Aaron!" she said defensively.
The slightly lighter haired boy laughed at her before teasing her, "Well, you look like a boy." He laughed, roughing his hand through her short, wavy mop of untamed hair; Tess hated brushing it, she always had.
"I do not!" she squeaked, "Daddy says I'm gonna be a lady when I grow up!"
"I don't know any ladies who can belch like you, piglet!" he retorted with a grin.
Tess went to reply, but Riley stepped in; enforcing his role as peacekeeper between the two hot-headed youths. "Alright, that's enough! Az; let's go help Mom. Tessie, you go and see if Dad needs anything, okay?"
The girl grinned beamingly at him before nodding, "Kay!"
With the previous argument all but forgotten, they all parted to accomplish their separate tasks. Their father was already outside, setting up the barbeque and cooking the food; a beer perched on the wooden picnic table in the backyard. Riley and Aaron usually had the duty of peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables for the salads. Tessa, who was not yet allowed to use knives or peelers, always got given the responsibility of putting the picnic cloth over the table and setting places for everyone with the plastic plates and utensils they used on Sundays so that they could just be thrown away; everyone avoided dishes on Barbeque Sunday. As she set the plastic knives and forks on the table, she turned to look at the man holding the steak tongs and smiled up at him.
"Daddy, don't burn it this time!" she exclaimed, walking over to him as he flipped the steaks. Phil looked down at her with a mockingly hurt expression, his hand over his heart like she had wounded him.
"Me, Tessie; burn something? Never!" he teased, but Tess looked up at him with the seriousness of a child; folding her arms as if she was telling him off.
"Yes you do, Daddy! Mommy says you make the garden smell when you burn stuff!"
A hollering belly laugh resounded through his form as he put down the kitchen tongs and scoop the child into his arms, making her squeal in delight. Her giggles rang through the back yard as he cradled her in one arm and tickled her furiously.
"Oooh I'll teach you to tell your daddy off, Kiddo! I'm gonna teach you!" he laughed, swinging her around in a circle as she squeaked with joy, laughing violently through her giggles.
"Da-Daddy! Please! Stop-hahaha-stop tickling me!" she laughed, trying to breath in between her father digging his fingers gently into the skin on her tummy and ribs; making her wriggle to try and escape his bear-like grasp.
"Nuh-uh, Kiddo! What's the magic password?" he teased, tucking his arms beneath hers and swinging her around in a circle like an aeroplane. She adored the games she and her father played; he was always doing silly things and telling corny jokes that made people roll their eyes. She knew the password, it was their favourite game.
"Love you, Daddy."
"I'm sorry, didn't quite hear you." Phil teased, tickling her briefly again to make her squeal loudly.
Tess raised her voice to a yell, laughing as she repeated the password, "Love you, Daddy!"
"That's better!" he exclaimed, lowering the child to the ground with a chuckle, "That'll teach you to say that Daddy burns stuff."
"-Honey!" came the voice of Tessa's mother from the doorway. Riley and Aaron were both carrying bowls of food and each of them had a bottle of soft drink tucked under their arms to put on the table. Their mother, Rachael, was a tall brunette woman with blue eyes and soft features. She wasn't what one would consider a 'classic beauty' but her warm heart and caring nature was what made her radiant. The had laugh lines on her forehead and her hands were hard worked from years of chasing after small children.
"Yes, Rae?" Phil called, placing a hand fondly on his daughter's tangled, messy hair.
"-Honey, the steaks are burning."
He'd cursed a string of child-safe profanities and shot back over to the barbeque.
Tessa giggled furiously towards the end of her story, and Optimus could see the fondness behind her memories. It made him feel a strange sense of relief, almost pride that she'd had such a wholesome life; there were so many who had lost so much in this war…
It was wonderful to see the sort of family that they had been fighting for.
As they pulled up in Tessa's driveway and the truck rumbled to a stop, she turned and looked into the rear-view mirror with a smile. "Want to walk me to the door, Chief?"
There was a brief pause of silence before he answered, "…yes."
She grinned as the air in the cabin started to electrify; the static causing her hair to frizz a little bit on the ends. As the Holoform came into being, she smiled and patted the leather seat softly before grabbing her duffel bag and climbing down the side. The passenger side door was heard closing as the human rendition of Optimus came around the front of the truck, waiting for Tess to reach him. She extended a hand to take his, but stopped before accomplishing the task. Instead, she turned and pressed her hand to the front grill of the Peterbilt before planting a kiss on the metal; its surface was warm from having just been running.
Only then did she take the Holoform's hand in hers.
She smiled up at him with a cheeky, amused expression before explaining her actions, "The real you gets attention first," she said as they walked, "the Holoform is nothing but a utensil; you use it as an extension, so it doesn't get first affection."
He smiled at her words, knowing them to be true. After all, even though she had officially kissed the Holoform; it was not technically the first time she had done so to him. There had always been small displays of affection (and a few sparsely administered kisses) in his mech form, and she had never shied away from him; she always admitted to his Holoform not being the real him.
It warmed his soul to know that she wanted him as he was.
As they climbed the steps and reached the landing on her porch, she suddenly slid her arms around his waist; her hands snaking into the jacket to clasp her hands on the small of his back. She breathed in his scent, comforted by the familiarity of resonant metal and the way he just smelled so uniquely him. His Holoform's arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her tightly; he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling of having her so close.
They stayed that way for some time, the seconds eventually ticking into minutes before Tess slowly pulled back from the embrace to look at him.
"You know," she smiled softly, her tone drawn out and mischievous, "tonight probably…kind of counted as a date."
Optimus thought about it for a moment before he chuckled and looked down at her. "I…suppose it does."
She looked up at him with a gentle smile and traced a finger over the pendant bearing the symbol of the Autobots; her eyes bearing a faint blue glow due to the the reflection of his own. "Well then, if this was a date…do I get a good night kiss this time?"
He was stumped for a moment, before a knowing smile crossed his Holoform's face.
Nodding slowly, he traced his fingers up from where they rested around her back, and up towards her chin. He gently held her face in one hand; the digits lightly rested against her jaw as he regarded her expression. She had a faint rouging on her cheeks, but she was not acting embarrassed; she was comfortable in his presence. Clearly the blush in her cheeks was simply a natural reaction to situations like these; habitual.
"Of course." Optimus murmured to her, in answer to her question.
Tess gripped the front of his shirt lightly and stretched herself up on her toes to reach him; their lips meeting halfway. His free arm tightened a fraction around her as they kissed, the Spark in both his real body, and the Holoform humming in appreciation. Tessa was revelling in the sensation that course through her veins in reaction.
It was different than the first time they kissed.
The first time it had been exploratory and uncertain; more a release of retained and resisted tension than anything else. This time it was soft, innocent and comfortable. Tessa's fingers tingled with the magnitude of emotion that fizzled between the two; it was complete affection. Her lips felt like they were on fire…and it was wonderful! She'd had boyfriends before, certainly; but they'd never given her this reaction when they'd kissed her. With Optimus it was different; there were no ulterior motives or hidden agendas from him.
He just wanted her company; as she wanted his.
Their kiss was simple and only brief this time but when she pulled away and looked at him, she her chest felt heavier; a feeling of wholeness. It was a feeling of complete and utter contentment, as though everything in the world was right; as long as she had him.
Running her thumb over his lips, she smiled warmly at him.
"Much better than the first date," she whispered, "now I don't have to try not to kiss you. Do you have any idea how hard that was?"
A smile crossed his face at the sheer irony of her question before he cupped her face in one hand and leaned forward once more; pausing barely a hair's breadth away from her lips before he whispered, "I understand it better than you might think."
He gently pressed his mouth to hers in a soft, endearingly sweet kiss before pulling away and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. His expression was one of complete fondness, as was hers when she returned his gaze with that blazing red tint across her nose. In this time of war, he felt blessed to be able to have someone to share his time with; and know that nothing he divulged to her would be spread. With Tessa, he could show the side of him that was not a soldier; the side that possessed humour with witty remarks, and uncertainty in the wake of something new. She would never judge him; never demand that his duty came first, because she cared for his personal wellbeing. He felt so much gratitude towards her for that…for just being her.
"You should rest," he murmured to her, touching a finger to her cheek tenderly before gesturing to her door, "I will see you tomorrow."
She smiled and gave a nod, returning the gesture of touching his face gently with her fingers; then she unlocked her door, shoved it open and turned back to him, "…Good night." She murmured contentedly, her fingers thrumming the door frame. He smiled with a nod and turned to head down the steps of the porch; but a sudden thought crossed Tessa's mind, "Wait, Optimus?"
He half turned to her, looking up in patient curiosity; waiting to hear what it was she wanted to say, "Yes?"
She chewed her bottom lip with a smile as she looked at the ground, before looking up at him with a smile, "Thanks for the drive."
A lacing of humour was spun through her tone, and he knew she was referring to their private moment earlier that evening; where they had kissed under the light of a fading sun. It was a quiet peace that they always seemed to find in one another when it was just the two of them; something that neither of them allowed themselves to have with any other. He gave her an amused smile; placing the Holoform's hand on the space of his chest where a heart should have been, but hummed with a Spark instead. He said only a tiny handful of words before he finally made his departure.
"…You, Tessa, are most welcome…"