ATTENTION: Don't forget to add in your input for the Move Along Sequel. Poll and details can be found on my profile page. Vote now!

***Poll Update***

Lead Results - Villain: HYDRA; Redemption Arc: Loki


Author's Note

I'm sorry...again. I so did not mean to take this long to get the next chapter done...again. That Jurassic World fic kind of took over for a while. I'm at nine or ten chapters already.

It still has my brain kidnapped, but I managed to get back to this one long enough for another chapter. Still not posting the new fic yet, there's a decision I can't make up my mind about yet that will affect the entire fic so I can't start yet. But I'll let you know when it happens.

Anyway, Move Along, yeah, you know how I said we'd get to the date this chapter? Yeah, that didn't happen exactly...yet...well...I guess you could call it pre-date?

*sigh*

You'll understand when you read it. I blame Sunny.

Okay, now for reviews.

...Actually, nevermind...I'm trying to multitask and it's not working so no reviews this time...sorry.

I'm just apologizing a lot lately, aren't I?

Okay, okay, go onward and enjoy!


Will I Regret This?

Ari doesn't leave the safety of Sideswipe's arms for a long, long time.

Give her Decepticons. Give her Megatron or the Fallen. She'll face down the World Security Council or even the entire world. She will take on all of that and more without batting an eyelash.

But make her face Ron, his escape from prison, his potentially coming after her, and she is reduced to that scared little girl again. At least now she doesn't have to face this alone, unlike before, when Ron was downstairs, drunk, and she was hiding in her room, hoping, praying, he wouldn't go looking for her.

She burrows closer to Sideswipe's chassis, the metal armor unyielding but it still feels like she can't get close enough. He automatically adjusts to her movement, holding her even closer, hand cupping the back of her head. His grip is just this side of painful but she doesn't care. He could be squashing her and she wouldn't care, because she can feel the ghost of her father, just on her periphery, threatening to pull her under and drown her in the memories of all that he's done to her and her fears of what he will do to her if he finds her. Right now, Sideswipe is the only thing grounding her.

He's the Guardian, standing at her bedroom door, waiting to beat her father back down the stairs if he dares come close.

He isn't her only Guardian though.

Sideswipe is sitting on his berth, bent knees drawn close and Ari cradled to his chest, his entire body curving slightly around her, almost possessively.

And sitting on the floor at the foot of the berth, facing the door, is Sunstreaker. He hasn't moved since they came here with the need to draw away from everyone else like a tactical retreat. He's kept a silent vigil, guarding them, guarding her, a sentinel.

For all of Sunny's talk, picking on her, saying he doesn't care, it's all just an act. If asked, he'd say he's just doing this for his brother, because Sideswipe cares about her, because Sideswipe's protectiveness is bleeding through to Sunny through the bond, but she knows that's not entirely true. He cares about her, just as she cares about him.

He's her brother, she his sister, though he'd never admit it and she'll probably never mention it either, because Primus help him if he ever has to talk about mushy stuff. But she's grateful to him, for this. For protecting her even though they're safe on base.

Are they though? Safe? With the traitor and all, this may be her home, the Autobots' home, but she's not safe at all. If Coulson's theory is right and it was Anti-Alien who leaked where she goes to school, and now they've broken Ron out of prison, then they're not just targeting the actual aliens they fear and hate. They're targeting her.

They really are interested in her, but the reason why is just out of reach.

"What are they planning?" Ari asks, voice hoarse with tears. "Breaking my…breaking Ron out of prison. What are they thinking?"

"I don't know, sweetspark," Sideswipe whispers, sounding just as lost as she feels.

"They're thinking nothing good, that's what," Sunny practically growls.

Sideswipe sighs tiredly, "Sunstreaker-"

"No." Sunny looks at them over his shoulder, blue optics blazing. "They didn't break him out just to yank her chain. They didn't do it just to scare her. They're going to use him to get to her somehow."

"What, you mean to draw me out?" Ari asks. "Like a hostage or something? Cause if that's what they're thinking, someone didn't do their homework. I'm not risking my life to save him from them or something."

"No, you're right, if they went to the trouble to break him out of prison, then they know how he got there. They know you don't care about him. But there are other ways."

"None of which we know for certain they're gonna do," Sideswipe says, frustrated. "We don't know anything about their plans. All we know is that Ron is out. We don't know where Anti-Alien is based, we don't know where they took Ron, and we don't know what contingencies to plan for. There's no use speculating when we just don't know." He looks down at Ari, his faceplates shifting in worry, and he uses his thumb to stroke her hair away from her face. She leans into the touch, knowing Sideswipe is taking comfort as much as giving it. "All we can do is what we've been doing. We make sure you're never alone and you don't leave base until this is over. You stay near us and those we trust. That's all we can do, at least until we know more."

It's weird to see Sideswipe like this, so uncertain, his confidence fractured, but they've all been blindsided by this. They're all worried about what this could mean. Optimus and Will have tightened security, sending out more Autobot patrols. From now on, either Optimus or Elita will always be on base, the two of them never being out at the same time. As sparkmates, Optimus and Elita lead the Autobots together, and this way there will always be one of their leaders close by in case something happens. Also, whenever Optimus is away, he'll still always know what's going on through Elita, and vice versa.

"Has Coulson been by yet?" Ari asks, wondering about the S.H.I.E.L.D. members of their team.

"Yeah," Sideswipe says. "He left about an hour ago. Optimus has been keeping Sunny and me in the loop."

"What did he have to say?"

"That whoever broke that piece of slag out of prison were good. Real good. Professionals, not the amateurs we thought Anti-Alien were."

"It's the same as what it was like when they broke in here," Sunny continues. "Quick in and out, no fuss, and leaving behind their calling card without anyone seeing more than a glimpse. Didn't look like an inside job this time though. They hacked the prison's system remotely, shut down the cameras, got control of the electronic locks for all the doors. That's how they got their people in and out so easily."

"How'd they do that?"

"They used some sort of virus. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried tracing it but got nowhere. Wheeljack took a crack at it and he couldn't come up with anything either. The little bugger deleted itself as soon as the job was done, leaving nothing left to follow."

"Not even Wheeljack could track it?" Ari asks, reluctantly impressed. "You weren't kidding about them not being amateurs. It takes a lot to stump Wheeljack."

"Exactly," Sideswipe says, shifting her higher in his arms. "So we have absolutely no leads except for the fact that they're up to something. Their leader, Maxwell, is also in the wind, so we can't try to get any answers from him either. Really, our only hope is that Clint and Natasha find the traitor before Anti-Alien tries something."

"How far along are they?"

"Not very. They've vetted all of the security team and now they're on recruits, but if it's not one of the recruits, then they still have the rest of N.E.S.T. to get through."

Ari sighs deeply, leaning her forehead against Sideswipe's chassis. "So, basically, it could still be a very long time until this is over, Anti-Alien is brought down, and Ron is caught."

Sideswipe shifts her higher again, so that he can touch his lips to the top of her head lightly in a kiss. "Yeah. We've still got a long road ahead of us."

She tilts her face up and kisses him, drawing out the seconds as their emotions transfer to one another and collide. She can feel Sideswipe's fierce need to protect her. Not want, need. He needs to keep her safe like he needs energon to function. It's so palpable it takes her breath away. He will do whatever it takes to protect her, and behind all of that need, fueling it, is his love for her. She allows it to surround her, hold her just as Sideswipe physically holds her, while pushing all of her fear towards him so he'll understand just how scared she really is.

She pulls back but just slightly, cupping his cheek with her hand to keep him only inches away. "I'm scared, Sideswipe," she whispers, needing to say it out loud as well. "I think about leaving this room and it terrifies me. But I know I can't just stay in here until all my problems are gone."

"Then don't," Sideswipe says simply. "I would love to hide you away where no one can find you until this is over, but I know that won't make you happy."

She snorts. "You're right. It won't." Standing firm sounds hard right now, but she doesn't want to run, doesn't want to be a delicate princess locked up in a tower.

She doesn't want to let her fear control her like it has so many times before.

He grins slightly, the first real smile any of them have had in a while. "So don't hide away. Face this thing head on and show them how strong you are. You leave this room, you finish your N.E.S.T. training, and you do it all with your head held high."

She's faced Ron before. She's faced him time and time again, let him beat her down over and over, but she always got back up. And in the end, she beat him. She won. She put Ron in jail and she'll do it again if she has to. She'll put Anti-Alien in jail, too. They'll all go down, in time, but she doesn't have to let them bring her down now.

And it's not like she's doing this alone. She has an entire family backing her up. Standing firm doesn't have to be hard, not when she has them holding her up.

She returns Sideswipe's grin. "I'll show them I'm not so breakable. Whatever they're planning, it won't stop me."

"Good," Sunstreaker quips sarcastically. "Awesome. Now that we've reestablished your ability to kick aft can we stop the mush and turn in for the night? It's late and you guys really don't need to be doing things like that in front of me."

Ari leans up for another kiss from Sideswipe just to spite him, eliciting exaggerated gagging from Sunny. Then Sideswipe places her on the side table so she can grab some clothes from the dresser and change in the bathroom. "Who would have thought that a little PDA would get under his skin so much?" she says with a chuckle.

Sideswipe hums happily. "Looks like we have a new way of annoying him."

"Holy Primus, just go recharge already," Sunny groans. "I'll take first watch."

Ari pauses in her rifling through the dresser drawers. "First watch? What do you mean?"

"We're going to take turns keeping watch at night," Sideswipe explains, "just to be safe. The doors have locks but if that traitor is ever determined to get to you, they could still find a way to get in."

A little excessive, yet strangely comforting. "Alright, when do you want me to take my shift?"

"Nope." Sideswipe plucks her from the side table and places her on the floor near the bathroom. "Sunny and I are going to take turns. You are going to sleep."

"What? No! I can help."

"Squishy, it's been a long day," Sunny says, getting up off the floor and moving to his own berth, "and we don't need as much recharge as you do."

"But-"

"Sleep, Squishy. Now."

She sighs exasperatedly. "Fine, fine, I'm going." She slips inside the bathroom and closes the door on Sunny's scowling and Sideswipe's laughter, leaning her back against it. A little smile pulls at her lips. "Love you too, Sunny."


The next day, Ari gets right back out there. Sure, she's still scared, so scared she has to stop her hands from shaking sometimes, but she's not about to let that fear hold her back. She hasn't for a long time. She's not going to revert and start letting it now. Not even for Ron.

There are some whispers when she arrives for training. The stares raise the little hairs on the back of her neck as she's shooting bullet after bullet, pretending the target is Ron. Her nerves instantly fray a little bit, jumping to conclusions that any of them, all of them, are traitors, watching her, but she shakes her head at herself. Quite a few people saw her breakdown yesterday, saw her run out of the shooting range and collapse in tears on the desert ground. Thanks to the AllSpark and her slightly enhanced hearing, she picks up the gist of it. Some say she's breaking under the stress of the training, that she doesn't have what it takes to be a soldier. Others say Ferrel must have done something, her bullying is common knowledge all throughout the base, and that Ari couldn't handle it anymore.

There's one outrageous rumor that Ari has a crush on Clint, aka Will Brant, and he rejected her, despite her relationship with Sideswipe. He was the only other person in the shooting range with her that day, after all. She openly laughs at that one, not even pretending she isn't eavesdropping, the laughter a bit of a relief. It's just so ridiculous. Even if she did have a crush on Clint, she'd never do anything about it.

Though neither of them have said anything, Natasha totally has a claim on that. And Ari would never move in on the Black Widow's territory. That'd be suicide.

The real reason for her breakdown is being held under wraps, though, as much as possible. Ron's escape isn't even in the news. Natasha and Clint are hoping to use it in their investigation.

Any traitors will end up being the only ones who know Ron is free.

So Ari lets the rumors fly, let's them wash over her and away like droplets of rain, forcing herself to ignore them. She dealt with all kinds of gossip when in high school. This is nothing compared to the kind of talk that was going around when the news of what Ron was doing to her got out.

One by one, she sets about proving the rumors wrong, though, because it doesn't feel right to just let things stand. It's not fair to her. She's at the top of the class, so to speak, in the shooting range that day, fully confident in her ability. She doesn't let Ferrel intimidate her, who is absolutely loving all of the dirty talk, but Ari is never one to be cowed by her and Ferrel gives up trying to get a rise out of her in frustration yet again.

Evie and John are worried, ask her what's wrong, but she just tells them she's fine and focuses on training. She feels bad about being evasive with them but, for the time being, this is how it has to be.

Then, by the end of the day when training is wrapping up, any lingering talk is snuffed out when Natasha arrives, leveling everyone with a cold glare.

"Hey, Nat," Ari says as she puts her gun away in the weapons locker. "What's up?"

"Come with me," she says simply and then turns on her heel, walking towards the door with recruits scurrying to get out of her way.

Ari has to walk quickly in order to keep up. "What's going on?"

"We have to get everything ready for your date with Sideswipe tonight."

"Date?" Ari squeaks in surprise. "What date?"

"The one I said I'd plan for you."

"But," Ari tugs on Natasha's jacket sleeve until she stops, arching a tolerant eyebrow at Ari, "is now really the time for this? I mean, what with everything going on and all. And besides, it's not safe for me to be going anywhere."

Natasha shakes her head, her red curls bouncing. "I don't agree. I think now is precisely the time for you to go on a date, because of everything that's happening." She places a hand on Ari's shoulder, lowering her head to look her in the eye seriously. "You're too stressed right now, Ari, and yesterday only made it worse. You need to relax and remember that you cannot control what is happening. There is nothing you can do to change things. What you need to do is remember to live your life and don't let anything hold you back. To stop living is to allow them to win."

"That's kind of like what Sideswipe told me yesterday," Ari mumbles quietly. "I was so tempted to just hole up in our room when he said that I need to face them, not hide from them."

Natasha smirks. "And now you're out here, still doing your training. That's good. Just keep that up and everything will be fine." She turns on her heal again and sets off at a brisk walk towards the mess hall. "Now come on. We have a lot of work to do to get everything ready."

Ari jogs to catch up again. "But I can't go anywhere."

"You don't have to go anywhere. People have dinner dates at home all the time."

Ari can't really argue with that so she just follows. She's heard of couples having dates at their homes but she's not really sure what all it entails or what prep work needs to be done. What all is Natasha going to have her do? Her mind flashes back to when she first met the agent, when Natasha helped her get ready for her meeting with the World Security Council, and what she thought when Phil said he was eliciting her help.

Is Ari going to regret this or not?

Natasha leads her through the mess hall, the room busy with soldiers and recruits since dinner is in full swing, and flings the double doors open to the kitchen in the back. The kitchen staff is a rotation of soldiers who work tirelessly to feed hundreds of mouths with several combinations of simple meals, mostly meat and potatoes. Most of the time they do a good job but sometimes, the food turns out a bit questionable.

Ari knows to never, ever, get the meatloaf. She found that out the hard way.

It's even busier in the kitchen that it is in the mess hall, men and women in white aprons hustling about in a quick but orderly fashion as they try to keep up with the demand for food. Stoves are boiling, skillets sizzling, and the heat of all of the appliances and bodies makes the room sweltering almost worse than the desert. Dozens of people are talking at once, the noise almost a roar, as they call out orders and demands while they cook. Natasha just keeps on going, navigating the throng of people expertly, and Ari sticks close behind her, wondering if Natasha was an undercover cook at one point.

They finally stop once they reach the back corner of the kitchen, an area with it's own stove and sink that's mostly out of the way of the main throng. Leaning against the stainless steel counter is Clint, his suit jacket nowhere in sight, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and an apron hanging from his neck and tied around his waist, looking completely at ease.

Maybe he was an undercover cook at one point?

"Alright," Clint says with slight excitement, pushing off of the counter. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Excuse me?" Ari asks, looking from one agent to the other in confusion.

"Like I said," Natasha supplies, "you're going on a dinner date. Clint is going to help you cook the food while I set up the location."

"But Sideswipe doesn't eat human food."

"Normally he doesn't, but he still can. And from what I hear he rather enjoys it, am I wrong?"

Ari tilts her head to the side, thinking, and then nods in agreement. Yeah, Sideswipe does like human food. He's always trying to steal hers if she has food and he's around in his holoform. "Okay, you have a point."

"Of course," Natasha says with a small smile, a smile that knows more than it ever says. She then begins to slink her way back through the cooks, calling over her shoulder, "You two have fun."

"Alright," Clint says with a clap of his hands, eyes narrowing at her critically. "Now, I know you're enhanced, but do you need a truckload of food like Cap?"

"Cap?"

"Captain America. Because of his enhancements, you know, the super strength and speed and stuff, his metabolism is a lot faster than it used to be, meaning he burns through a lot more food a lot faster than he used to, too. So. Are you like that?"

"No," she says, showing him her arm and the AllSpark marks. "These aren't just for show. There's circuitry underneath the skin that helps regulate my body and its needs, so I eat normally."

"Awesome. So we don't have to multiply recipe portions by five."

"Does Captain Rogers really eat that much?"

"Yep. We went to go get shawarma after the Battle of New York as kind of a victory meal, and I swear between him and Thor the place was almost out of food by the time we left."

"Yeesh. I'm glad I didn't end up like that." She looks over the counter, not seeing a recipe book or any food or supplies out yet. "So what are we cooking?"

"That's up to you. What would you like to eat? Remember, this is just as much for you as it is for Sideswipe, probably more so since he won't actually be eating all that much."

"I don't know," Ari says uncertainly. "What do people normally cook for dates?"

"Depends. Could be something really fancy, especially if wine is involved. The kind of wine determines the kind of food since not all wine goes good with all food. Do you want wine? Nat can get it if you want it."

"No," she says firmly. "No wine."

Definitely no alcohol. Not for her. Not ever.

The corner of Clint's mouth tips up and she sees understanding there. "Alright, then it can be just about anything. You can do his favorite food, try something new you think he'll like, something that brings a certain memory to mind..."

She bites her lip, trying to think of all of the different foods Sideswipe has tried and realizes it's quite a lot. He also rarely eats something he doesn't end up liking.

Unless it's mustard. He thinks mustard comes from the Pit itself.

There is one kind of food that brings a certain memory to mind, though. It always does when she eats it. And having breakfast for dinner is almost better than normal dinner.

"Do we have the makings for waffles?" she asks hopefully.

Clint's eyes tilt up to the ceiling as if he's running through a mental list of the kitchen's contents, though how he could have all of that memorized she has no idea. After a moment he nods though. "Yeah, we do." He then reaches into a bottom cupboard and pulls out a waffle iron with a smirk, knowing exactly where it is without any hesitation. "Come on, kid, let's get cooking."

He tosses her an apron and she stares at him, unamused. It's bright pink. "Really?"

He shrugs unapologetically. "What? You need to stay clean, even though Nat is probably going to put you through the works getting you ready."

She freezes in putting on the apron, staring at him through the sweep for her head. "What do you mean, 'put me through the works'?"

Is she going to regret this?

Clint just grins. "You'll see."

That's not comforting at all, but she yanks the apron on anyway and sets to work, helping Clint gather ingredients from the cupboards and fridge.

Ignoring what's worrying her, she's good at that.

Under Clint's careful instruction, with him having a recipe for waffles completely mesmerized apparently, Ari makes waffles from scratch all by herself, Clint claiming it to be more special if it's mostly her who actually makes it.

Who would have thought Clint would be a closet romantic?

Suppressing a chuckle, she focuses on the task. Cooking isn't new to her, at least, it isn't anymore. Back when she was still with Ron, she'd have microwavable meals. Now, Sarah's shown her a few things, so she isn't too terrible at it and she takes instruction well, Clint only needing to step in to adjust her stirring technique.

When the batter is finished, Clint wraps the bowl up in saran wrap and sticks it in the fridge, saying that he'll cook them on the waffle iron while she gets ready for the date. They move on to cutting up strawberries and bananas for toppings instead, Ari taking bananas and Clint strawberries. Clint's fingers are deft with the knife, like it's an extension of his hand that he doesn't have to even think about. He may work mostly with a bow, but by the skillful ease he uses to cut fruit slices, he could probably think of ten different ways to kill a person with a thumbtack, let alone a knife.

He's on his third strawberry when he asks, "So how are you doing after, you know, yesterday."

She grimaces, focusing on finishing her banana before answering, "I'm…managing. Keep looking over my shoulder, but managing."

"You don't have to worry about that, kid. We'll protect you. Nat and I have already talked about it and we decided to split our time between the investigation and guarding you. At all times, one or both of us will be watching over you, though you may not always see us. No matter what, our priority is keeping you safe."

Ari chuckles softly to herself, wondering if that's why she felt like there were eyes on her all day. She has her own personal shadows which...isn't as creepy as she thought it would be. Her shoulders sag a little in relief. "Thanks. That's...That actually helps a lot."

His hand lands solidly on her shoulder, squeezing, and she looks up at him. His smile isn't playful like it usually is, this time it's sincere. "Don't worry, kid. We've got your back."

They lapse into companionable silence then, quietly slicing fruit, and without her really noticing it, all the rest of her tension that's been digging into her shoulders all day finally releases. Every time one of the other cooks come too close to their end of the kitchen Clint shifts his stance minutely so he can keep an eye on whoever it is until they wander off again. His eyes never miss a detail, always sweeping for potential threats, and it's comforting.

It makes the danger seem less...scary, but will that end up coming back to bite her in the aft?

Will she regret this?


Author's Note

Yeah, didn't get to the date yet and yet I kind of did? But, hey, at least you still got some fluff! And there's more to come! Plus, Will comes back next chapter. Some of you were wondering where he got to and I explain it next chap.

Alright, I can't concentrate. Time to just wrap this up.

Hope you enjoy, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!