Queen's note: The feels. The scary. The cute. [Primus I hope this is good character development for Crosshairs.]

Just A Stray, Just A Cover

Chapter Seven

Just The Lone Wolf...

(...and puppy)

It was just plain water, no useful additives and solvents to use. Well, he did have some proper things bit Crosshairs was not stupid enough to use them. Not here. One thing it would leave a giant sign that a Cybertronians was around. Two he did not have enough for the whole pool- lake and there might be a wash-rack in the bolt hole. Three, some of Crosshairs' favorite solvents, 'soaps,' that he had left over would quite easily burn Amy in a few ways. More so if any of it was not rinsed or dried off properly.

...and it would kill off a lot of the local wild life. Not so much a big seal to the Trooper, but again it would be a glaring sing he had been there.

Water, however plain, was still far better than the grit in Crosshairs' pedes, what was nearly in his joins as well as the growing amount of annoying stains on his person and his over-armor.

Crosshairs paused in his scrubbing, turning his attention away from his right leg as he heard giggling. The mech arched an optic ridge as he watched the girl back on shore for a few moments. He gave a faint snort, but felt himself quirking up a half smile as he watched the sparkling sized girl splashing in the smaller waves caused by his movements.

"Have fun there bug?" Crosshairs asked, shifting where he sat in the lake. He flicked some water off his hand in Amy's direction. None of it made it, but he got another giggle, "Just donna fall in."

"Okay!" Amy chirped, for now still just knee deep, the mech-made waves not too bad to scare her anymore, though her shorts were getting notable wet when she sat on the beach. It let Amy continue to follow and peer at the minnows and water bugs, both categories staying as far away as possible from the Wrecker.

Crosshairs turned back to what he was doing, trusting for now that Amy would stay on the shoreline where she would be safe. His attention turned back to scrubbing at his leg, working the brush-poof under the edge of an armor plate to get an itchy spot. The water was slowly becoming hazy as Crosshairs cleaned up, the sounds of water and Amy's smaller happy squeaks as she discovered new things behind him now filling his audios. With the sun peeking through the over cast sky it wasn't too bad of a day in his opinion.

The Wrecker stretched out his leg, swishing it in the water as he leaned back, feeling the cool water seep into a few new places. Like that space between his back and the over armor. It felt good, and it felt good to get cleaned up as Crosshairs sat back up to start scrubbing on his arms, catching a the sound of a yip.

He glanced back, watching to be sure Amy had her feet in that new wave, tensing a moment as he watched her plop down. The mech made himself relax as he saw that Amy was still in the shallows, she was not being pulled deeper. She was safe. Crosshairs turned back to scrubbing only after he saw Amy scoot back and start softly splashing. The mech gave a deep vent, ignoring the slight gargle from being in the water, once again he thought about his reactions, and actions.

"Primus," Crosshairs muttered to himself, switching legs to scrub, taking his time on his knees and ankle joints. Switching to a softer scrubby for that and a smaller one for the cleft grasping claws on his pedes...

Claws?

Crosshairs paused to lift his free hand, examining his blunted claws.

"Frag...I've been neglecting mahself on this dirt ball." Crosshairs said, rubbing two fingers together as he took note of the scraps and groves not just on his talons but his hands as well. The wrecker slowly flexed his left fingers, extending the claw tips proper. They were still sharp and mostly clean, but could use some care as well. He really was neglecting his overall heath.

As there was a small giggle from behind him, and working to his left, Crosshairs was starting to make a list of what to do. What he could do right now and what could be done using human related things if there was no washrack. That though trailed off into another as Crosshairs paused with scrubbing, lowering his arm from his front and turned to stare at Amy. The Wrecker was not sure how he felt suddenly, watching his charge...

His?

Primus.

Crosshairs huffed softly to himself as he worked through what he was feeling in regards to Amy as he watched the girl chasing minnows and dragon fly larva. The trooper made sure the little human had food and water whenever she asked now. He was even checking that a little more than the first week, given Amy's habit to just be quiet about her needs. Crosshairs looked down at his hands, suspicious of his own behavior until now.

The Wrecker shifted in the lake, making waves again as he did so, but this new position let him keep an optic on the human sparkling. Starting to slowly scrub his other leg as she climbed on a fallen tree mostly in the water.

What would Optimus think of his behavior? Primus what would Roadbuster do and say to him if the Foreman found out about this? Chew him out and drop kick him likely. Or leave Crosshairs on this planet.

"Alright bug...kid let's get going." Crosshairs shifted, moving to sit on his knees. He flailed his armor and shook himself, starting to get up. Only once crosshairs was in the kneeling position and rocking up right, he felt his right pede suddenly start to slide out from under him in a rare slip, "Frag!"

The wrecker wavered, the lake bottom acting like a slicked tub to him, there was no rocks for him to get traction. Resulting in a scramble and a face plant into the water Crosshairs was glad none of the other mechs could see. The mech growled, the sound gargled in the water as he twisted and kicked his right leg to straighten it out so he could sit back up again.

Crosshairs' head broke the surface and he spat out a mouth full of water, "Primus fragging slag-" he coughed, clearing more water out of his intake. "No one saw that... you okay kid?"

The mech looked up as he carefully stood again, only to turn as he did not get a response. Crosshairs stared at the place where the girl had been and the tree still rocked in the water, and then his teal optics widened as he jerked upright realizing he saw nothing. "Amy?"

The Wrecker activated his short range scanners, sweeping them over the tree line. If some human grabbed the girl when he was not looking- Crosshairs' hand stopped as he picked up heat and bio-energy not from the forest but from a spot in the water.

A spot that was about six and a half feet deep.

With a panicked warbling sound, a half roar to a human's ear, but still purely alien-robot sound, Crosshairs launched himself back to the shore. "Amy!"

Both hands extended, the tall mech felt himself slipping again, yet this time turned it into a half slid. His hands dropping into the water and closing around the warm, but still body. Smaller hands were gripping his fingers even before he pulled the girl out of the water, cursing in cybertronina the mech lifted the girl up to his chest level before hearing a tiny gasping. Releif flooded through Crosshairs' chest and the spark frame itself as the gasping turned to coughing. "Primus sparkling- Amy, how did- slag."

Crosshairs had slipped, his sheer mass of metal had been displacing water all afternoon and making waves that Amy had been playing in. With that fall it would have made a much bigger wave, knocked her over and pulled her out of her depth.

"Fragging-" Crosshairs growled at himself, cutting off what he was going to say as he felt the shivering in his cupped hands, rising up to his full height and well away from the lake. Water cascaded off and out of his frame, some murky around his lower legs, as he reached into subspace, flicking out a kind drying cloth he used with cleaning weapons. It was stained, but it was clean of cemicals, and would absorb better then a slandered polishing cloth. He wrapped it around the girl, holding the human sparkling against his front for a long minute, staring down intently and running his scanners over the girl several times, checking and duble checking to be sure Amy's lungs were clear, and they were.

"Primus..." Crosshairs muttered, looking around before hesitating, making sure he had a good grip on the shaking girl, he walked carefully back in the water. He grabbed his scrubby and a brush to shove in subspace. Walking back out he peered back down at Amy the Wrecker Accent slipping again, "I'm sorry lil' lass...I didn't mean to do that."

Amy tucked her head down, pressing it into the cloth against the joint of mech's thumb. A reflex, worried she would be in trouble. She had climbed onto the tree that went deeper then her knees. Crosshairs had told her not to go deeper than that- to stay on the shore-

The mech's blunted claws shifted around Amy, drawing her out of the fresh memory of being underwater. Of seeing only a murky color as her body had just locked up, breathe held but unable to do, or not knowing what to do. The side of one talon rubbed against her back, rubbing the cloth around to help dry the girl off before a deep rumble started against her side and legs. The vibrations and sound became deeper, still having that gravely edge of Crosshairs' voice, but a steady sound.

A purring sound.

"It's alright soft spark," Crosshairs reassured, keeping both hands over the child as he started to slowly rub the cloth over her still thin frame.

"...'em sorry..." Amy's voice was muffled, still curled up, not unlike that first time he had seen her after transforming. Protecting her front and neck.

Teal optics narrowed for a moment before Crosshairs made sure to flood his energy field with not just his relief but now something warmer, calming and maybe yes, affection too. His voice reflected the purring, "It's not yea fault Amy. I was the one ta slip, I knocked yea over with that wave. Come on my lil' soft spark, let me see yea?"

Crosshairs was supporting Amy against his chest with his left hand while he used the digits of his right to work in and rub the cloth over the girl. His blunted talons were gentle, the movement half pets but trying to be reassuring at the same time. It took until the shivers nearly faded, only one once ever thirty seconds before scared, and unsure green eyes peeked up.

"There ya are," Crosshairs smiled, still keeping up the purring, the curved edge of talon gently brushed against Amy's head before he genly scooped her into his right hand. Pulling the cloth off the mech hesitated a moment and moved to get a new one for the girl. "I think it's time ta go,"

And teach her how to swim... somehow. But not right now, that was for much later on.

"…am I in trouble?" Amy's small voice asked, still worried.

Crosshairs was careful to keep the annoyance at himself out of his voice and field. He lifted Amy up to his optic level, hoping he was doing the right thing as his voice was sure and calm. "No. Yea're not. Not at all."

As no one was around that Crosshairs knew of, even if that scout was, he tilted his head forward, gently, carefully letting himself nuzzle against the girl. After a moment Amy outright pressed against the larger face, resting against his right cheek as the optic above her squinted slightly. The girl rested there, feeling the living metal and the many ridges that gave Crosshairs' face texture. Finally, Amy started to relax, and nuzzled back against the mech, feeling him rumbled back before she was pressed a little tighter against him for just a moment.

The girl watched as both large hands cupped around her again as she was lowered down. She looked up, eyes wide as she grasped that she really was not in trouble. Watching Crosshairs' face intently as he seemed to debate something. One of his hands moved over top her, giving her back and shoulders a half pet, half scritch in that way he seems to do.

"Alright," Crosshairs said, more to himself as he opened an armor pocket, using his free hand to lifted a panel of armor over his chest. "Alright, yea're mine. My charge. My responsibility an' all that slag. Let's get yeah in where its safest fer a while."

"...safest?" Amy echoed, blinking as she stared at what was happen, squeaking as she was lifted back up close to the mech's frame. Realizing there was a short...way? under the panel that was lifted.

"Ya, I got an armor pocket, its ta keep sparklings safe," Crosshairs tried to explain. Pausing, he would not force the girl but finally felt ready, more so after that scare, to let her in. "Yea can hide in there fer a while. Warm an' dark."

"Warm?" Amy echoed, she gripped at Crosshairs' fingers and peered in. The girl glanced at the ground far below, and the lake water not far. She shivered before wanting to be hugged like her mother used to. Feeling the mech's digits were wrapped around her was nice, but with the size difference... She peeked up to look at what she could of Crosshairs' face around his chest. The girl reached out and gripped at green armor. The purring came back at that deeper tone as Amy was moved closer and boosted up, not unlike how the mech would help her get up to that spot between his neck and collar ridge.

'Armor pocket' was a pretty good description of the spot, it wasn't very big at all being in the mech's frame proper. It was a space made in a Cybertronian's body to carry their young, the younger sparklings that could not survive outside of a safe area on their own. Where the adult frame was able to provide heat, protection under the thicker armor plates, but more, the pocket was near to the spark. As much to help keep the sparkling calm, but help creatures or caretakers bond.

In this case, Crosshairs hummed in surprise as something...affected him at feeling Amy willing to go in, even if just to hide for a while. The paratrooper and gunner twitched as systems he had forgotten about suddenly kick started for the first time in a few thousand years, thinking there was a sparkling. Inadvertently pushing the girl the last bit into the pocket.

"Okay, I fergot about that." Crosshairs ran a hand over his face, his other resting over his chest, and forced his systems to crack the armor pocket back open. He was not going to let it seal, human sparklings needed air flow unlike Cybertronians sparklings. There was something just... satisfying, or relaxing about having those sensor lighting up, it had been a Predacon sparkling the last time he had used the armor pocket. Saving it from the Decepticons on a colony world, and in turn he had gotten shuttle for returning the little nipper.

Crosshairs rumbled, realizing he had let himself get attached this much. Amy was his sparkling now, not just a forced charge, not an organic pet. Not just a cover aid.

She was abandoned and neglected by humans, former caretakers.

Crosshairs found her.

Cybertronian law, she was an abandoned sparkling.

Now his.