Ryme's POV

It was early in the morning and everyone was still recharging. When I woke up my sister and I were cuddled close together. And by close I mean Firefly was literally grabbing onto me for dear life, like she didn't want me to disappear. Thankfully I was able to escape her death grip and get some energon, and left hers at the side of her berth. I didn't really have anything to do so I decided to watch the sunrise from a tall billboard sign in the scrapyard. While I was sitting on the ledge of the sign, kicking my pedes back and forth, and sipping on my energon, the sun started to shine through Crown City's buildings with the beautiful colours of orange and yellow. As the sun rose higher it started to shine and reflect on my plating making me look very shiny. It also lit up the skyscrapers in Crown City making it look like shiny silver. It was beautiful. I smiled in awe of the landscape that looked like a painting that was worth millions.

However while I was watching the City's glow, I sensed that someone was watching me . I slowly turned my head to the left to see Sideswipe, with the most mischievous smirk I have ever seen. It made my whole body heat up a bit. He was sitting on top of one of the shelves that were around the scrapyard. I decided to play it cool and smirk back at him and turn back to watching the sunrise.

Once I finished my energon, I saw in the corner of my optic that Sideswipe was still watching me. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I wanted to show off a little. I stood up, looking at the horizon for a second, then down at the ground. I glanced at Sideswipe and smirked. What he didn't expect was me turning 180 degrees so I was facing the billboard, then doing a backflip with my legs tucked in my chest and doing a graceful landing on the ground. I waited for a moment to regain my balance and stood up straight. Smiling and taking a deep vent in and out, I looked at Sideswipe with his jaw open and optics wide in amazement. He slid off the shelf he was sitting on and ran to me. His optics were so wide and his smile was bright, that it made my spark pulse faster. I shook my head mentally to control my thoughts.

"That was, awesome!" Sideswipe panted with heavy vents when he was in front of me.

I chuckled at his compliment, while also blushing a little, "Thanks."

"Mech, you gotta teach me how to do that!" He said, getting excited.

"Maybe. One day." I laughed, servos on my hips.

"Deal." He said, he held his servo that was a fist in front of him. I smiled and fist bumped Sideswipe.

"Are the others awake yet?" I asked, dropping my servo and arm down to my side again.

"Yeah. I think they're getting their energon right now." Sideswipe said, smiling at me.

"I think Firefly will start to worry if I don't show up," I said to Sideswipe who nodded, and started to walk to the command centre when I grabbed his arm to stop him. He looked at me with confusion and a hint of worry "can you not mention me backflipping to Firefly?" I asked, a bit pleadingly.

"Why?" He asked.

I sighed softly, "Because she worries too much. And during the war she didn't want me doing things like that, where I could get hurt in stupid ways." I explained.

Sideswipe's optics went wide for a second, then nodded and smiled in understanding, "Sure, I swear I won't speak a word over it. My mouth plate is sealed." He made a zip motion on his lips to emphasise his point, which made me chuckle in amusement.

"I know we've only known each other for a day and a half, but I know for a fact that you can't stay quiet for two minutes." I joked.

"Heh," He scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment which made him look… cute, "Yeah, I can't really help it, my mouth has a mind of its own."

I chuckled, "Come on, let's get to the others." I said as I started making my way to the team that I was now part of, which was a little overwhelming if I'm being honest. It was all so surreal that it felt like a dream and I'm scared if I wake up, I'll lose this wonderful fantasy.

When Sideswipe and I arrived at the command centre we saw everyone drinking their energon. Everyone was sitting all around, either on the floor (Drift and his students with their legs crossed) or on boxes or crates. I looked at where my sister was sitting, and saw that she was sitting with Windblade, who was a little too close to her and I saw that my sister was blushing at something Windblade said. I snorted quietly to myself and shook my head in mild annoyance, here she is teasing me about having a crush on Sideswipe, when she's crushing on Windblade . I thought to myself, I'm going to get her, to get a taste for her own medicine later .

I turned to see Sideswipe talking with Bumblebee about something, which made me raise my optic ridge in interest, but I shrugged and walked toward Firefly. "Good morning, Firefly, and Windblade." I greeted both of them, smiling brightly.

"Morning Ryme, did you have your energon?" She asked.

I nodded, "Yes, I had one when I woke up." Firefly smiled and nodded in understanding and turned to Windblade to resume their conversation. I went over to Grimlock who was in bot mode, sitting on a box that held his weight really well, while taking sips of his energon. "Good morning Grimlock." I smiled at him.

"Mornin' Ryme." Grimlock said cheerfully.

"Are you two feeling okay this morning?" I asked like a worried parent or sibling.

He nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I feel great, ready to punch some Cons."

I laughed at his enthusiasm. Then I turned to Strongarm who was sitting next to Grimlock, on a different box. "I feel fine. Ready to start the day." The cadet said. I nodded.

I turned my helm to see Drift and his students sitting on the floor, legs crossed drinking their energon. I was a bit nervous to approach them, but I was going to try my hardest to make friends with everybody, because that's what I did best. "Good morning Drift, Slipstream and Jetstorm." I did slight nods to each of them, smiling.

"Good morning, Ryme." Drift said, looking at me, then returned to his energon.

"Morning." Jetstorm and Slipstream said together.

I smiled at how cute they were, but I knew that they were strong warriors. "Are you all feeling well today?" I asked.

Jetstorm was first to reply, "Yes, we're alright."

I nodded again to them and walked to Sideswipe, who was leaning against the metal of the Alchemor. He turned his helm and smiled when he saw me coming toward him. "What were you talking to Bumblebee about?" I asked curiously. I swear it runs in the family, I can't help being curious.

"You'll find out soon." He said, sounding that he was up to something.

It only made me raise an optical ridge in curiosity. Then I heard Bumblebee clear his vocaliser to get our attention. Everyone stood up at attention to hear the plans for the day. He called out names in groups of two that were going to go on patrol. When my name and Sideswipe's name got called out, my optics got a fraction wide in surprise and my spark felt a little excited. I looked at Sideswipe with a smirk, now knowing what he and Bee were talking about. I turned away and blushed knowing I'll get to be alone with him for a while. When Bumblebee finished the debriefing, everyone went to do whatever they do to consume their time.

"I have a question for you, Ryme." Sideswipe said, walking to stand in front of me.

"And what would that be?" I asked with a smirk.

"Do you want to go on a drive with me?" He asked me in a way I couldn't refuse. But I decided to play 'hard to get' card.

I tilted my helm, thinking, "Hm, I don't know. Will it involve being with someone charming and handsome?" I teased while smiling.

"I surely hope so." He scoffed softly.

"Then," I sighed, servos behind my back "it would be an honour." I said with finality. Sideswipe smiled and transformed as did I and we both drove out of the scrapyard to begin our date.

End of Chapter 9