(Author's note to predaqueenisarcee256. I'm extremely sorry that this took so long to post. This whole thing is turning out way longer than I expected and I was struggling to figure out what to write. Ended up re-writing this several times, but I want it to be interesting. I want to thank you again for your request and let you know that the next parts are NOT going to take so long getting out.)
It had been a rough day. First thing that morning you had to sit through a lengthy lecture by Prowl of all people. Once that was over, you found yourself having to do the work of two due to Sunstreaker being in the brig again. So you not only did you have your own duties to do, but you had to pick up the Lambo's slack as well. What's worse is that you knew that Sunstreaker wouldn't even be grateful for it.
Then just as you were about to go to break Wheeljack practically chased you down and insisted that you help him with one of his projects. One look at the desperate glow to his optics and you knew that the only reason he was asking you now was because he'd already asked everyone else and you were the only one that hadn't been suddenly "very busy" or flat out said no. You sighed but agreed to help. You regretted your decision the moment you climbed into Wheeljack's strange machine. You weren't sure what exactly it was supposed to do and every time you asked he just kept insisting that it wouldn't explode. You knew this was just code for "Oh, it most certainly will explode and you will sustain massive damage or probably die."
To Wheeljack's credit, the device did not explode. Just the opposite in fact. The moment you pressed the button, as Wheeljack instructed you to, the entire contraption began the slow process of imploding. You just barely made it out of the thing before it folded in on itself to the point that it simply shrunk out of existence.
"Gee, I wonder what went wrong?" Was Wheeljack's only response.
It took a great deal of willpower on your part to keep from grabbing a hammer and putting a dent in his face plate.
When you finally were allowed to retire to your room you were so tired and stressed as to be completely miserable. All you wanted to do was recharge and you didn't care if you NEVER woke up! Unfortunately for you, the moment you settled onto your berth, alarms started blaring all over the base.
You stared, blank-faced at the ceiling. Of course the stupid Decepticons decide to attack now! Of fraggin' course! You yanked yourself to your feet and stormed out of your room to meet up with the others.
By the time you got to the scene of the attack, you were more than ready to bust up some Decepticon heads. Brawn was grinning at you, delighted at your violent mood.
"You're awfully Gung-Ho today." he quipped.
"I've had an awful slaggin' day, Brawn." You griped. "All I want to do is take out my frustrations on some deserving 'Con low life and go home to recharge."
Brawn laughed heartily.
"Remember, kid. Autobots don't condone murder." he joked.
"I'm not gonna murder anyone, Brawn!" You snapped suddenly.
"Whoa! Easy there, kid!" Brawn said, raising his hands in surrender. "You really are wound tight."
"I- sorry, Brawn. I didn't mean to snap." You apologized. "I just want to be done with this day."
"You gonna be in fightin' shape?" he asked, placing a hand on your shoulder.
You shot him a somewhat insulted look.
"The only way I won't be in fightin' shape is when I'm dead!" you shouted.
Brawn responded with a rowdy war cry. "That's what I'm talkin' about!" he laughed and clapped you on the back so hard you almost fell over. Stupid mini-bot and his stupid unnatural strength!
The good-natured mood was abruptly shattered by a missile slamming into the cliff above your heads. The resulting explosion caused a rock slide. The two of you were force to transform and escape being buried alive. Good news, you both escaped. Bad news, now you were separated from your partner. All around you could hear the chaotic sounds of laser fire, explosions, and shouting. The battle was in full swing. Somewhere over it all, you could make out the sound of a jet approaching your position.
"KID!" Brawn's gruff voice bellowed from your communicator, startling you.
"Still alive." You responded. You could just barely hear his sigh of relief.
"Okay. Okay, find some cover and stay there until me or another Autobot gets to you. Do not engage with any 'Cons! You hear me, kid? You see a purple symbol you get the hell outta there! Do you understand!?"
"Yeah, Brawn. Don't worry." You muttered. You gave the pile of rubble separating you two an annoyed glare that you hoped would somehow reach Brawn. As if in answer to your wishes Brawn piped up on the communicator again.
"I can hear you glarin' at me." he said. You chuckled.
"How can you hear a glare, Brawn?" you asked and you could hear him guffawing.
The two of you shared a good laugh before you decided to address something that had been bugging you for a while.
"Brawn... you're always saying that you know I can handle myself in a fight. Still, you're always calling me 'Kid' like I'm some kind of tag-a-long sidekick. You know I actually really hate that."
There was no response from your partner for a long while. Then you hear him sigh heavily.
"I'm sorry." he said in a tone that said he was embarrassed to do so.
"Look, Kid- I mean... look, I know it's rough, okay?" he began. "I understand how you feel when everybody treats you like you just came off the assembly line. It's not right. But the guys are just... worried, ya know?"
Brawn didn't sound right. His normally gruff, rugged tone had gone quiet (well as quiet as Brawn could ever get).
"Hey Buddy, you okay?" You asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine... I just... Dammit all... "He sighed heavily again. There was a sound of clanging metal and if you didn't know better you'd have thought that he'd slapped himself.
"I'm not sure how to say this," he spoke up again. "This probably ain't the best time either, but I just don't know if I'll be able to do say this again. I worry about you, too. Yeah I know, big, bad Brawn has a soft spot. Shut up."
He was struggling like he wanted to say more. As for you, your mind was reeling. This was a side of Brawn that you always knew was there but he'd never showed that side of himself to anybody. Most of the time he acted like he couldn't stand sentimental stuff and would actively ridicule anybody that started getting "mushy". He wasn't the type of guy to open up to anybody, not even his closest friends. And yet, here he was, openly admitting his feelings. You smiled, genuinely touched at the gesture.
"Brawn," you started to say, but he cut you off. Any trace of softness had been sucked out of his voice and replaced with strict urgency.
"Someone's comin' up on your side. Cliff top. Radio silence."
You ducked back against the cliff and huddled into an alcove. It didn't offer much cover, but it would at least hide you from anyone looking directly down into the cliff. You heard the sound of a heavy vehicle rolling over the rocks above. One of the rocks broke loose and fell down into the cliff, right next to your hiding spot. Taking a chance, but being cautious, you peeked up at your visitor. A light tan colored tank rolled to a stop just above your hiding place. It transformed and there stood a Decepticon you definitely weren't ready to deal with. Blitzwing. You ducked back into the alcove. As much as you hated to admit it, but Blitzwing would slaughter you in seconds if you tried to take him on alone.
"Come on out, little Autobot! I know you're down there! Quit hiding! Come on up here and play with ol' Blitzwing!" he called down to you.
You hated this. Hiding like a helpless coward. But what else could you do? You almost cried out as a barrage of laser fire began scorching the ground near you. You ducked as far back into the alcove as you could go. All at once the laser fire stopped and the dust began to settle back down to the earth.
"I'm gettin' board, Auto-twerp!" he bellowed. "Maybe I should go find your tiny friend instead and play with him for a while? Would you like that?"
You almost laughed at that. Part of you wished he would go find Brawn. The Decepticons were always underestimating Brawn simply because he was a mini-bot. You would give anything to see the triple-changer's face if your partner did get to fight him. Seeing Brawn put 'Cons twice his size in their place was always a treat.
"Fine! You wanna play games? I'm coming down there, Autobot, and you're not gonna like it when I find you!"
You froze. This had now escalated to the worse case scenario. If he really did come down there, you were scrap metal. You silently pulled your laser pistol from it's holster. It seemed wholly inadequate all of a sudden.
"Ready or not, here I come!" Blitzwing called down, laughing wickedly.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" another voice shrieked.
Oh, you knew that voice. It was unmistakable.
"Starscream? I was just about to smash a little 'Bot into iron filings!*" Blitzwing protested.
"Imbecile!" Came the Air Commander's shrill reply. "We need you on the front lines! Stop wasting your time tormenting grunt soldiers!"
You could almost see Blitzwing's face twisting up in a snarl at the Seeker.
"Whatever." Blitzwing muttered. You could hear the sounds of transformation and a jet's engine taking off. Blitzwing chose his jet mode rather than tank. Probably to get away from the Air Commander quicker. You waited to hear the sounds of his own jet mode leaving the scene but it never happened. Moments passed. What was he doing up there?
You fell backwards as Starscream landed directly in front of you. The ground shook a bit at his landing. He straightened up and greeted you with his signature self-satisfied smirk. Primus, the only thing missing was a tooth sparkle. Oh. No, wait. There it was. He aimed one of his null rays at you.
"I've been looking everywhere for you." he said with a sneer.
*Couldn't help the reference to Transformers Animated's Blitzwing there.