A/N: lowkey did not proofread this one as good as i shouldve but in my defense im hungover from day drinking oops. ok love yall you know the drill tell me what you think stay safe and be happy (: oooh also that quote is from a song that is 100% on the Lil'Bit soundtrack (that i mentally have listed in my head).
Chapter Twenty-Four:
Love Song
"I could use a love song/ That takes me back, just like that/ When it comes on/ To a time when I wouldn't roll my eyes/ At a guy and a girl/ Who make it work in a world/ That for me so far just seems to go so wrong/ Yeah I could use, I could use a love song." –Maren Morris
"Here you go!" Taylor set a plastic cup of iced coffee in front of me then sat down with her own cup of some sort of pink colored tea. There was only one coffee shop on base, and it was more of a small stand that the cafeteria workers would take turns working. I was never a frequent customer, but after starting to work for Simmons I actually visited it pretty often. "I thought you didn't like coffee."
"Yeah, me too." I took a sip of the bitter liquid, "But I'm not legally allowed to drink liquor on the job so this will have to do for now."
Taylor chuckled and shook her head, "Is working with Simmons that bad?"
"Yesterday, he asked me to pick up coffee for him and I did it so incorrectly according to him that he sent me back four times to change his order." I replied with a roll of my eyes, "I'm considering homicide."
"Please don't murder him. He's a weirdo and talking to him longer than 5 minutes gives me the creeps, but according to Bumblebee and Peter he's actually stupid good at his job." Taylor played with the cup in her hand while she spoke. Her fingers tapped against the plastic. It was a nervous tick I had noticed in her ages ago, but I couldn't pin down the reason why she was nervous.
"He is good at that shit." I agreed. Simmons was shockingly good at this politics stuff but that was probably because he was nearly as sleazy as the other politicians we had to work with. "So, what made you wanna get coffee with me today?"
Taylor shrugged, her fingers gripping the cup tight, "I can't hang out with my favorite aunt?"
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Right. How goes things with Ratchet?"
"Same as always! It's nice having Percy around he's a lot of fun."
"He's…fun." I nodded. I had run into Perceptor in Ratchet's medbay about two weeks ago, after coming back from my impromptu visit to Vegas with Cade. Meeting him was a weird mix of Ratchet scolding me for leaving base and Perceptor asking me a million and a half questions about my energy signature and what I knew about Cade's freaky arm brace.
Taylor cleared her throat, "So…Cade? You and him?"
"Oh, yeah." I nodded then tilted my head, "I think we're dating. I don't know we didn't put a label on it or anything. Making out with him has been super fun."
Taylor laughed, "You guys seem to get along really well." I couldn't help but smile. She wasn't wrong. Cade had been beyond great. Talking to him always brought me out of my head and centered me. He made me laugh. Plus, like I said, he was a hell of a good kisser. I brought my drink to my lips, "How's the sex?"
The bitter coffee went straight into my lungs and I began to choke loudly, "What?!"
"How's the—?"
"No!" I shook my head at her, "You're not allowed to say—that."
Taylor grinned, "Aj, I am an adult. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, but—you." I scrunched my nose. "I didn't really think I'd ever be talking to you about this."
Taylor's smile faltered and for some reason I felt like I had said the exact wrong thing. I shook my head and heaved a sigh, "We haven't—I mean, we're taking things slow. Like really slow."
"Oh. Any reason?"
I rubbed the back of my neck, "I'm the first person he's been with since his wife passed and he's the first person I've been with since…"
Since ever? The last person I kissed had been Kyle, which the thought of now made me absolutely nauseous. The last person I had sex with had been…well, I didn't even really remember his name. For a while there one-night stands with random people I met in a bar had been my vice. Eventually I got tired of even that and avoided people completely. Hell, now the thought of being with someone I actually did care about seemed foreign to me. Basically, I was pretty fucked up in that arena.
"Aj?"
"Slow is the way to go for us." I slapped the table once with a grin. "What about you, hon?"
Her eyes widened, "Me?"
"Yeah, you got your eye on anyone?"
Taylor opened her mouth to speak only to quickly close it and cover up the action with a sheepish smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Uh, no. Not really. Um, it's just not something that I'm, uh, looking for right now."
I narrowed my eyes at her sudden uneasiness and her obvious lie. Something was on her mind and whatever it was it was seriously bothering the usually carefree woman. I slowly began to reach out, but Taylor rose from her seat absentmindedly brushing her hands against her pants.
"Actually, you know what? I just remembered Ratchet wanted me back early." She waved her hand, "I should get to the Medbay. You know how Ratchet gets when people are late to what he wants them to do."
Before she could get too far away, I called out to her, "Taylor."
The blonde turned quickly, her high ponytail lightly whipping against her gloomy features. She tried again to smother it with a friendly smile, but the sadness in her eyes was not going to be covered up so easily. I pushed myself up from the table and walked toward her.
"You know I love you, right?" I chuckled.
Taylor looked startled but dismissed it, "Um yeah, I do. I love you too, Aj."
"Like crazy, stupid love you. You and your brothers are the most important people in the world to me." I said firmly and I watched as her features softened. "Now you may be this gorgeous, genius, successful engineer, and don't get me wrong I am so infinitely proud of everything you've done." I stepped closer. "In fact, you're probably lucky I wasn't here for your graduation because I would've made a complete debacle of it all. I'm talking 'balloons and bullhorns and security threatening to kick me out for being too obnoxious' proud."
Taylor chuckled and crossed her arms, "I would've liked to see that actually."
"Yeah, well despite all that, sometimes when I look at you… I still see that little girl who cut her hair with play scissors and tried to pack an entire barbie dream house into a tiny backpack and told me she'd be my best friend since I didn't have one." I nodded once. "You've grown up though and protecting you isn't just checking the closet for monsters or putting band-aids on your scratched-up knee... I need to do more than that and I want you to know that whatever is going on—no matter what it is… I have your back, Taylor."
Taylor's lower lip began to tremble, and I could tell she was biting back tears. I gave her a warm smile and shrugged, "You don't have to tell me anything. You don't have to talk about it at all. Hell, you could just hand me a baseball bat and point someone out to me without a word and I'd take care of the job." She let out a laugh and the smile stayed on her face, her eyes were glassy with tears, but the sadness wasn't as apparent. "Just answer me this. Are you happy and are you safe?"
"Yes." She said softly. "I'm very happy, and I'm very safe."
I shrugged, "Then that's what matters. That's all I've ever wanted for you, Taylor."
Taylor rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I was taken aback by the suddenness of it but didn't hesitate to put my arms around her and rest my head on her shoulder as I rubbed her back.
"I love you, Aj." She mumbled and her grip on me tightened.
I chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, now get to work because you're right I do know how Ratchet is when people are late. Ornery son of a bitch, he is."
Taylor laughed and pulled away. She quickly used the back of her hands to swipe away any lingering tears before thanking me and running off. I had no idea what was going on with her or why she couldn't tell me, but I respected her privacy enough not to dig. Like she had said, she was happy and she was safe and nothing else really mattered in my mind.
I grabbed my coffee and walked out of the small lounge area I had met her in. There was still forty minutes of my lunch break left since Taylor had left so abruptly. I took another large swig of my drink and walked toward the cafeteria where I figured Cade would be. It didn't take long to get there and when I stuck my head in I spotted him in the back corner eating.
Before I could get far, I heard my name being called out, "Aj!"
I turned and froze as Maya walked over to me. She gave me a smile and it took me a second to get a smile on my face to greet her back, "Maya. Hi."
"How've you been?" She asked. She was dressed in her uniform, her dark hair tied back into a low bun.
I nodded, "Great. Living the dream. I'm the assistant to a liaison who's never happy with anything. I am—I am fulfilled."
"We miss having you around." Maya shrugged, "Maybe you could swing by for hand to hand training. Show us some tips. Nobody holds a flame to you in the ring."
"I uh—"
"Hey. You ready to go?" My head snapped to the side to see Cade had come over. He set his hand on my lower back and offered Maya a nod and a smile.
I nodded, "Yeah." Quickly, I gave Maya a shrug, "Good seeing you."
Without waiting for her to reply I grabbed Cade by his shirt and dragged him out of the cafeteria. As much as I liked Maya and the others, seeing them still stung a little. Cade grinned at me, "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Thanks for coming over to me." I bumped my hip against his.
Cade chuckled and slung his arm around me, "You looked like you could use a save."
"My hero." I joked back with a genuine smile. He knew how I felt about the whole situation and him coming to my rescue was one of the reasons why being around him made me feel so at peace. It was a feeling I wasn't used to having.
My phone buzzed again in my hand as I tried to type out a response. I rolled my eyes and changed the message yet again to match whatever it was Simmons was bitching about now. Something about another meeting to mark down in his planner. The sound of barking made me glance up curiously and in the time it took me to track down the noise Simmons sent yet another message.
"Oh, for crying out—" I just hit the call button and brought it up to my ear while hurrying down the hall to find my missing pup. It had been ages since I got one on one time with my dog. The government basically stole him. "Simmons."
"Finally, I've been messaging you why haven't you replied?"
"Maybe because you haven't given me the time to? Now what is going on with the meeting next week?"
Simmons sounded like he was in the middle of eating while he spoke. He was definitely chewing on something over the phone and I grimaced at the sound, "It's been moved to today."
"What?"
"I said it's been moved to—"
"Yeah, I heard that, you gross weirdo." I scoffed, "That's the one in DC though? And we're in Nevada?"
Simmons slurped on a drink, "Yah."
"Simmons!"
"Meet me outside the main hanger in twenty minutes we're leaving."
He then promptly hung up on me and I rolled my eyes. Luckily, it sounded like Bear was barking in the hanger up ahead which is where I needed to meet my weirdo boss anyways. I stepped into the busy area and spotted Bear bouncing around Sideswipe's holoform. The mech was scolding him and trying to get him to stop but Bear was having no part of it.
Bear had gotten better about being around people and listening in the twenty years I wasn't around, but he still had an attitude about it. It seemed like the only people he listened to without hesitation, when he wasn't working, was Sunstreaker and I.
"Will you just listen to me, you annoying, organic pit spawn!?" Sideswipe cried.
I lifted my fingers to my lips to let out a loud whistle. It caught a few solider heads, but Bear whipped his head around and spotted me immediately. He took off toward me and it took all my strength not to go sprawling on the floor when Bear tackled me in his greeting. I kissed his head and rubbed his neck happily.
"Hi baby boy." I cooed and let him lick me on the face, "I missed you too."
"Oh, thank Primus, he's been a nightmare to deal with." Sideswipe groaned as he walked over with relief written all over his holoform's face.
I grinned and left my hand on Bear as a I spoke to him, "You know, some people say that about you?"
Sideswipe gasped and put a hand to his chest, "Aj. That hurts my feelings."
I smirked at him and in response he lunged forward to pull me into a hug. With a laugh I hugged him back while Bear growled beside me. I pulled away from Sideswipe to return my attention back to Bear, "Don't worry. You're still my favorite."
"Attention hog." Sideswipe snorted while glaring at him. He turned back to me, "So what brings you here? Shouldn't you be following Simmons around making sure he doesn't kill someone or defund something important?"
"It's funny. I think my job is actually to keep people from killing him. Weird, huh?"
Sideswipe shook his head, "No, that's not weird. I could easily see why other humans would try to kill him."
I chuckled, "Well, I'm heading to DC in twenty minutes with him for some meeting."
"Today?"
"Yeah." I shrugged, "It's news to me too."
Sideswipe motioned with his head to the side and I followed his lead across the hanger to where there was a bench against the wall. He dropped down into his seat first and I sat down beside him. Bear settled on top of my feet and I smiled down at him, just happy to get a little time with my busy, working dog. When I glanced back over at Sideswipe he was already looking at me with a smile of his own.
"How've things been?" I asked leaning my shoulder into his, "You and your brother have been so crazy busy with shifts. Did Prowl bust you for a prank or something?"
Sideswipe chuckled, "As if we'd ever let Prowl catch us." I gave him a look and he continued. "Prime asked us to help out a little more and we obliged."
"Oh. Guess that makes sense. You want me to ask Prime to give you a vacation day?" I joked, "I miss hanging out with y'all. I mean, I haven't seen Sunstreaker in nearly 2 weeks."
Sideswipe gave me another smile and for some reason this one didn't seem to reach his eyes. Just like Taylor this morning, there was a sadness there, and I didn't know what to do with this knowledge. He shook his head and unlike Taylor his look disappeared completely to be replaced with his usual happy grin, "And here I thought I was a nightmare to deal with."
"I said some people say that. Not me." I replied quickly.
Sideswipe cleared his throat, "So, I hear you're courting someone."
"Courting." I laughed and shook my head, "Um, yeah. Sort of? Cade and I aren't really putting a label on it, but I…" It felt weird to say it out loud period but saying it in front of Sideswipe felt even more odd. "I like him, Sides."
"Are you happy? Does he… Does he make you happy?"
The question was familiar. I nodded, trying not to let the embarrassment show on my face, "I am, and he does. Which is super weird and to be honest I don't know what to do with it."
Sideswipe's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, my luck with this stuff is rotten. The last guy I even thought about was Kyle." I said and Sideswipe made a face of disgust when I said the name. I laughed with a nod, "Exactly." I tore my gaze away from him and shrugged, "I just can't trust this feeling. I want to, and I'm trying, but a part of me is waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me, I guess. Cade's a good guy and I don't wanna ruin that. You know how I am about stuff. I'm a mess, my life is a bit of a train wreck, and—"
Sideswipe poked my cheek with his finger, and it forced me to look back at him in shock. He stared at me with a look somewhere between disbelief and confusion, "None of that."
"Huh?" I pushed his finger away with an awkward chuckle.
"You're perfect. In every single definition of the word." Sideswipe shook his head, "You're clever and strong and brave and smart and gorgeous and funny and—"
"Sides." I stopped him with wide eyes, my cheeks burning, "What're you—"
He shrugged nonchalantly, "Give yourself some credit, babe. You're a catch and if I have to remind you of that occasionally then so be it. I'm glad Cade makes you happy. You deserve to be happy." Sideswipe stood up and winked at me, "Just don't forget he's lucky to have you, not the other way around."
Before I could reply, Sideswipe walked away with a slight wave. Bear lifted his head and jumped up onto the bench where Sideswipe had been to lay his head in my lap. He was entirely too large to fit comfortably on the bench, but Bear made do with the space he had. I scratched behind his ear with a small smile.
"Aj!" I glanced up to see Bumblebee's holoform bouncing toward me in excitement. He didn't have on his military uniform like Sideswipe had. Instead, he wore dark jeans, a dark gray shirt, and a light blue jean jacket with nice shoes. His face was bright with a wide smile, "We're going to DC!"
"We?" I shook my head and stood up. Bear whined at me. I reached back to pet his muzzle with my fingers, and it appeased him well enough, "You're coming too?"
Bumblebee bobbed his head, "Yeah! You guys need an escort and I got the job! We'll be hanging out in DC for the next 3 days!"
I blinked in confusion, "3 days?"
"Finally, I've been waiting for you two." Simmons yelled despite the fact that he was just now strolling into the hanger. He held a bag over his shoulder and sunglasses on his face, "The plane is waiting, let's get a roll on."
"We're gonna be gone for three days, Simmons!?" I snapped at him.
He shrugged, "What? Did I forget to mention that? Oops."
I pressed my lips together in irritation and ignored the sheepish smile Bumblebee offered me as consolation, "I'm gonna sic Bear on him."
"Bad idea." Bumblebee replied and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I think Prime is sending me with you to make sure you don't kill our new liaison. I hear it wasn't fun doing the hiring process."
I hummed and lifted my hand to pat Bumblebee's cheek lightly, "You got your work cut out for you, hon."
"I don't understand why they can't just get all their supplies from their own planet!" The stuffy politician declared. The only parts of DC I had seen were the airport where we landed where I threw up in a trash can after getting air sick and the inside of these board rooms where the politicians have been arguing over shit for the past day and a half. So far, my favorite place was the airport.
Luckily, these meetings didn't require much from me. I sat beside Simmons and pretended to take notes. Technically, I was supposed to actually take notes, but Simmons learned very early on that I had scratched out that portion of the job.
I pulled out my phone and texted Bumblebee an emoji of a skull and bones followed by the water gun. After it sent, I grumbled under my breath, "This meant so much more when it was an actual gun."
Simmons yelled a little louder and slammed his hand against the desk we sat at. The guy didn't fit in amongst normal people or in a normal setting, but boy did he thrive in this nut house. He knew how to get these other assholes to cave and I couldn't tell if it was because he was such a good debater or if they were equally as annoyed by him.
My phone buzzed in my hand, 'I'll take you to get ice cream before we leave for base tonight!'
Aw, what would I do without Bumblebee?
The meeting continued to drag on while I counted the tiles on the ceiling. Luckily, this was the last meeting while we were here, and we'd get to head home tonight. I weirdly missed base life and it would be nice to hang out with Cade in person again. The video calls weren't exactly the same. Especially with Simmons hovering over my shoulder with each call.
"We all know the real problem here!" Angry politician #2 snapped. His face was ruddy, and he looked like he was a few seconds away from having an aneurysm. From the moment we showed up he had been the number one jackass against the Cybertronians. "The Cybertronians should've left years ago! Those monstersare a drain on resources and nothing but trouble."
I set my phone down and leveled a glare at the man. His eyes darted to me and gave me a sneer that didn't intimidate me remotely. I'd seen more intimidating looks from Tyler when he was a kid and didn't want to take a bath.
"Look, you've gone and upset my assistant. She'll be even more of a nightmare to deal with now." Simmons scoffed. He shuffled the papers in front of him, "You can keep talking in circles, but all of you know that what I know is what needs to happen. Vote in the surplus for the Cybertronians budget or we'll be back in 24 hours and none of you will like that."
He rose up and motioned for me to do the same. I stood, keeping my glare on any of the politicians who dared look at me, and then followed Simmons out of the room. We were met with a crowd of news reporters. That was one thing I hadn't gotten used to. They screamed and shoved to try and get Simmons' attention to ask him every question under the sun. The curly haired fool stopped to answer one reporter, the prettiest of them all, and I stood by his side glancing around for the mech who should be around here.
Bumblebee poked his head up from behind the horde of reporters and he gave me a wave before disappearing again. I chuckled and crossed my arms. Just a couple more hours and I could get out of the business clothes and gorge myself on the ice cream Bumblebee promised.
Simmons began to move forward, so I followed his pace. As we cleared the first ring of reporters, I caught sight of one of them trying to shove through the others rather rudely. Well, ruder than they usually were at least. I turned to glare at the guy, but rather than him holding a microphone I watched as he reached his hand into his coat pocket. Alarm bells went off in my head and adrenaline was dumped into my system.
"Move." I shouted and shoved Simmons to the ground before lunging forward. The shooter was step away and before he could get the gun out of his jacket entirely, I managed to throw my elbow into the center of his throat. He made a loud choking sound and tried to lift the gun, but I disarmed him using the trick Tyler showed me.
Once the gun was in my hand, I unloaded the clip then used the empty gun to pistol whip the shooter across the face. He hit the ground and before I could do anything else Bumblebee threw himself on top of the man. Bumblebee flipped him over and pressed his knee into the guy's spine as security ran over to detain him.
The reporters around us were in a frenzy and all I could see were camera flashes for a moment. A hand clasped on my shoulder and I nearly threw the owner of the hand over my shoulder except I recognized his voice just in time, "Now that was hot!"
"Call me hot again and I'll shoot you myself, Simmons." I scoffed and steered him out of the crowd toward the doors. The entire time he was barking back at anyone who could hear that his lawyer would be dealing with them. It wasn't until we got outside of the government building that Bumblebee caught up with us.
The mech wrapped his arms around me tightly, "Aj, are you alright!?"
"Aj? I was the one who was nearly killed!" Simmons barked.
"You've been liaison for two months and people are already trying to kill you." I rolled my eyes and dropped down on a stone bench.
Simmons sat down beside me, "What can I say? I'm good at what I do."
"Or just really fucking annoying."
Simmons leveled a glare at me, and I just shrugged in response. He really couldn't have expected more. Plus, since I had saved his life technically, I think that meant I had a pass to do or say whatever I wanted.
Bumblebee, in his light gray suit, knelt in front of me worry still in his eyes, "Are you sure you're ok? I'm so sorry, I should've been there quicker."
"Are you kidding?" I gave him a smile and set my hand on his shoulder to try and offer him comfort, "That's probably the most fun I've had since I started working for Simmons."
"Again." Simmons cut in, "I almost died."
He looked like he wanted to bitch more about the entire scenario, but an incoming phone call interrupted his train of thought. Thank God. Simmons answered it gruffly and walked away to finish it up. Bumblebee brought my attention back to him as he sat beside me warily.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"Bee." I gave him a deadpanned look, "I'm seriously fine. Don't sweat it."
The soft mech gave me one of his signature smiles and if I hadn't been fine before I would be now. The kid could melt even the iciest of exterior with a grin like that. Simmons came back over a couple minutes later.
"So, since an investigation is now open, we're gonna have to stay in DC a few more days." Simmons shrugged. I glared at him and he continued, "A week at the most."
I blinked in suppressed rage, "I should've just let the guy shoot you."
Cade squirmed in his seat. It had been a while since he flew in a plane and the last time he had it was an actual commercial flight. As it turns out, flying in a military jet strapped against the wall on an uncomfortable cushion the size of a dinner plate. Still, he reminded himself that this would be worth it.
Aj had been stick in DC for three days more than she should be with another three days on the horizon. Every other text from her had been a threat on Simmons' life which was ironic since she was the one who saved him. Bumblebee had told the story to Taylor and Bluestreak and after that everyone on base had heard it.
The jet shook and he gripped the straps around him.
"We're just landing. No need for concern." The gruff voice came from the large police cruiser parked in front of him. Straps held the Autobot down, a makeshift seatbelt, and it was the first time he had spoken since the plane took off.
Cade cleared his throat, "Right. Just… real bumpy."
Cade had to beg a lot of people and convince some real big players in order to get permission to get on this plane. It wasn't like stealing a car to go to Vegas. This was hitching a ride across the country to pick up his girlfriend. Prowl was going there anyways to help with the process of what was happening, and Cade saw it as the perfect opportunity.
He hadn't realized how boring base was without having Aj around to brighten his day. All he did was wander or lay around Ratchet's medbay. His calls to Tessa and his video chats with Aj were kind of all that was keeping him sane so far.
The plane hit the ground, how it was supposed to he hoped, and his entire body jarred. This was miserable. He'd never complain about flying coach again. As the plane finally began to slow, Cade jumped when a holoform fizzled into reality to begin to unstrap the police car. It was then that he realized that Prowl's holoform was the one he saw the least.
Quickly, he unbuckled himself and jumped up to help. Prowl glanced at him curiously, gave him a nod, and then they both went back to work. It didn't take long to remove the straps and by time they finished the back of the plane began to open. Cade whipped around at the whirring of the door and glanced down at himself nervously. His clothes were a little wrinkled from how he had to sit for the long ass flight, but he was about as presentable as he was going get.
Prowl drove out of the plane and Cade followed just as quickly.
"I swear to God, Simmons, I'm gonna ask Prowl to run me over just to put me out of my misery."
Cade grinned at the very familiar voice and soon after his eyes landed on her standing between Simmons and Bumblebee's holoform. She had on a sleeveless, light blue blouse and dark dress pants. Her short hair tied and pinned back as much as it could be to show her pretty features. Her face was drawn in irritation, but as her eyes dragged away from Prowl to him it turned to shock.
"Cade?"
He held his hands out, "Broke out of prison."
Aj rushed forward and tackled him in a hug. He nearly fell backwards but caught himself at last minute with a laugh. She leaned back to press her lips against his briefly, "You are a sight for sore eyes."
"Well, I got an even bigger surprise for you." Cade hummed keeping his arms around her waist. "I think you're really gonna like it too."
Aj shrugged, "I don't know this surprise is hard to top."
"I'm not allowed to stay in DC, but you can come home with me." Cade grinned.
"Oh my God, I'm gonna cry." Aj laughed and leaned forward into his shoulder. He chuckled as Simmons walked over while Bumblebee and Prowl spoke. Part of the deal was that Prowl would stay here but Bumblebee would travel home with them. The Autobots didn't want him or Aj traveling alone. "How did you pull this off?"
Simmons cleared his throat, "Looks like the gangs back together. If Cade is staying in your hotel room tonight, I'm requesting to be moved. I can't have the noise of your love making interrupting my beauty sleep."
Aj whipped around with her arm pulled back and Simmons took a large leap out of the way. She continued to glare at him before turning back to Cade.
"I'm taking her back to base, Simmons." Cade replied, trying not to let any of his embarrassment show. It wasn't that he didn't wanna sleep with Aj. A part of him very much did, but he didn't think either of them were ready for that yet. Cade was still trying to get used to having feelings for someone again. He winked at Aj, "You got some friends in high places, Aj."
"I'm sending every person who helped in this process a personalized thank you card."
Simmons shook his head, "So you're just gonna leave me assistant-less?"
Aj gave him a deadpanned look, "I saved your life. I think that covers any of my responsibilities."
After clearing up the matter a little more, Aj grabbed his hand and dragged him back onto the plane. Bumblebee drove up behind him and Cade helped strap him in. It took twenty minutes for them to re-fuel the plane. The pilot told them to take their seats, and Bumblebee swung open his back door.
"You can sit here! It's a lot comfier, promise."
"I think you just don't wanna be left out of our conversations." Aj hummed and slipped into the Camaro. Cade followed, the door shutting behind him, and he was pleasantly surprised when Aj leaned against him.
Bumblebee chuckled, "You're not wrong."
The ride back was going to be long as hell, but Cade could already tell he wouldn't mind the trip whatsoever.
I pulled Cade by the arm into the hanger trying not to laugh as he half-heartedly tried to pull me back outside, "Don't you wanna just hang out outside? Enjoy the sunset?"
"All I wanna do is sit in my apartment, drink, and watch Netflix." I replied with a grin and turned to look at hm. He took advantage of that moment to grab my other hand and pull me closer. I snickered, "You're a second away from having your invite revoked."
Cade shook his head, "Oh, I'm invited?"
"Well at this rate, no."
He chuckled and leaned forward to catch my lips in a kiss. I pulled one of my hands away from his so I could wrap it around his neck and pull him closer. Cade smiled in the kiss then tugged on my lower lip. He pulled away slightly, but stayed close enough that I could feel his lips move when he spoke, "We could just stay here in the hanger and make out?"
"Mmm, that is a little more tempting." I hummed.
There was a clack of metal lightly hitting metal, and I glanced away from Cade to see Jazz standing in his full form with his arms crossed. Jazz wasn't the kind that you'd hear sneaking up on you which is why I knew the sound he had just made might as well have been the equivalent to clearing his throat.
Cade looked back to me, "Hey, how about I pick up some food from the cafeteria and I'll meet you at your place?"
I beamed and pushed forward to plant a quick kiss on his jawline, "You're my hero."
He squeezed my hand, then offered Jazz a wave that the mech didn't return, before walking out of the hanger. I walked over to the still silent mech with a friendly smile, "Hey there, stranger."
Jazz offered me his hand, "Wanna take a walk?"
It had felt like forever since I had time alone with Jazz. Tyler said he had been pretty busy with Prowl as of late and I never seemed to run into him like some of the other Autobots on base. I stepped onto his hand and he lifted me carefully before heading out of the hanger. I guess I was gonna be out enjoying the sunset.
"How was DC? Heard you saved Simmons from gettin' shot."
"Eh it was nothing. The guy they hired obviously wasn't a professional." I shrugged. Jazz lifted his hand to the side hanger's roof for me to step off onto. I sat down on the edge with my legs hanging off and this left me about at eye level with Jazz. "I think Simmons enjoyed the attention honestly." Jazz didn't chuckle at my attempt at a joke. "How've you been? Other than busy?"
Jazz rolled his shoulders once, "Just the usual. I wanted to talk to you about something."
I nodded, "Yeah, I got that vibe off you. What's going on, Jazz?"
"It's about Cade."
"Figured." I rolled my eyes with a laugh, "Yes, I am dating him. Yes, it is going well. And, yes, everythingis going good."
Despite, my light attitude on the matter, Jazz still looked sullen. This was one of the more serious times I had seen him, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what the issue was. Had I done something wrong recently? Lord knows I was on my bullshit 24/7, but I couldn't think of a specific thing I had done to make any Autobots upset at me. No dangerous scenarios, no risky moves, and I had been sticking to my assistant responsibilities for Simmons. Hell, this was probably the best behavior I've exhibited since getting here.
"I don't think you should be courting Cade."
I blinked in surprise then immediately furrowed my brow, "Excuse me?"
"I don't think Cade is good enough for you, sweetspark." Jazz replied nonchalantly. "I don't trust him."
"Trust—You don't trust him?" I shook my head, "What are you talking about? Cade is a good guy."
Jazz shrugged again, "I said what I said, and I mean it."
I scoffed in disbelief, "What the hell am I supposed to do with that, Jazz?"
We stood there for an awkward morning not saying anything. I didn't get where this was coming from. It always seemed like Jazz was cool with Cade. Granted, they didn't spend a lot of time together, but that wouldn't explain why Jazz didn't trust him.
"I just don't think the two of you should court each other."
"Oh, yeah?" I motioned toward him with my arm. "Should I just rebuild that stupid wall I've always had up then?"
"No—"
"Then what do you want from me, Jazz?" I snapped. "Who should I be with if Cade isn't good enough for me?"
Jazz opened his mouth to speak but shut it just as quickly. He turned on his heel to look away from me for a moment before turning back. His entire frame looked tense. Jazz vented a sigh and shook his head, "Aj…"
"Damn it, Jazz!" I lifted my hand to bury it in my loose hair. This was so frustrating. Jazz was one of my closest friends and I cared about him so much. That included his opinion, but he couldn't just drop a random belief like this on me without a real explanation. "Jazz, I—I am happy. I'm actually happy and that isn'tsomething I've been able to say very often. It's definitely not a line I use about my fucking love life." I scoffed and tried not to show how much his words actually hurt me, "Why can't you just be excited for me on this, Jazz?!"
Jazz vented air, "Because you're important to me, sweetspark, and I just want what's best for you!"
There it was.
The root of problem.
In fact, this was probably the root of every single problem that has ever come up with Jazz. I shook my head while slamming hands on the metal roof on either side of me. Quickly, I shoved myself up to my feet, "Why do you think you're the only person who knows what's best for me?! I'm a grown ass woman and I know how to take care of myself!"
"I know you can, but I want to be there for you!"
"This is more than being there for me! You try to control my life, Jazz, because I think at the end of the day it's me you don't trust!" I yelled. Jazz tried to speak, but I wouldn't let him. "If you trusted me, really trusted me, then you wouldn't feel the need to inject yourself into every decision I make. Trying to join the military, working as Simmons' assistant, this—you don't trust me to make my own decisions."
Jazz shook his head, "I just don't want you to get hurt making the wrong decision."
"That's part of the process, Jazz." I tried to get through to him, "Sometimes, I'm supposed to make the wrong decision. Sometimes, I'm supposed to get hurt because that's how I learn." The sun was nearly gone, and Jazz's visor glowed in the dim light. "Remember in my universe? When I wanted to go to that fight to appease Boss and you tried to stop me? If I had never gone to that fight, if I had never suffered through that shitty decision, I wouldn't have figured out that that life wasn't for me."
Jazz leaned forward, resting his hands on either side of me, "I'm just trying to protect you, Aj. That's it."
"I'm not a damsel in distress, Jazz." I shook my head and lifted my hand to rest on the side of his face to try and soften my next words, "And I'm not the femme on Cybertron you couldn't save." He tensed under my hand and I sighed, "Jazz, I don't need rescuing because I can rescue myself."
Jazz pulled away without a word and scooped me up to set me on the ground. He offered me a sad smile, "You're right. You're right."
"Jazz—"
"Sorry, sweetspark." He said quickly before stalking away back into the hanger.
I wilted in disappointment. There weren't many ways this conversation could've gone. I couldn't agree with Jazz on what he said because he was wrong. Cade was a good guy, and everything I had said, no matter how hurtful, was true. Jazz couldn't keep trying to make decisions for me. Like I had told him, I was no damsel, and I knew I was a shitty decision maker when it came to personal choices, but it was my life. I would rather take the long route to my future, making those wrong choices, then have someone carry me to the finish line.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Cade had sent me a text, 'Cafeteria had chicken parmesan and alfredo. We are living tonight!' I chuckled and couldn't hold back the smile on my face. This was proof Jazz was wrong. My entire life I searched for something, a sign or rhyme or reason, to fall in love. I couldn't say I was in love with Cade, not right now, but he was that sign for me. He was the sign that told me I could try again.
Taylor hurried down the halls looking for a familiar face. She had heard that Cade and Aj had just arrived back from DC, early no less, and she was eager to finish up the conversation she was having with Aj before she left. Taylor had been in Wheeljack's lab with him and Preceptor so it took her a minute to get back to the main level.
The plan was to check the cafeteria and then her apartment, but luck worked in her favor when she turned down one hall only to nearly collide with her aunt who seemed space out entirely.
"Aj!" Taylor chirped in surprise.
"Taylor?" Aj questioned and took a step back, "Sorry, I was zoned out."
She shook her head with a smile, "No, it's my fault. How was DC?"
Aj shrugged, "Uh, exciting, I guess. Filled with snot nosed politicians."
Taylor laced her hands together nervously and nodded while Aj told her more about saving Simmons from getting shot and then Cade showing up. She actually knew a decent bit about both incidents. Bumblebee had been texting her all during the trip, and she was part of the reason why Cade got permission to leave base and fly to DC. So instead of hanging on each word, Taylor rehearsed the script she had created in her head.
"I gotta go meet Cade though, he's got food waiting for me—"
"Wait!" Taylor stepped in front of her, "Er, I wanted to talk to you about something real quick."
Aj nodded with surprised eyes, "Sure, what's up, kid?"
Taylor had a long spiel of easing into the news, but when she opened her mouth it all flew out her ears. Rather than her nicely planned speech, all she said was, "I'm dating Smokescreen."
Aj blinked in surprise and Taylor internally cursed herself, "Um, what?"
"I am dating Smokescreen and I have been for years, I wanted to tell you sooner but I was nervous because it's not a common thing and I wasn't sure how you would handle the news and I'm still kind of panicking but I love you Aj and I just want to know what you think." Taylor wrapped up her Bluestreak impression.
Aj had the same look of shock on her face as before but it was slowly to confusion then to panic and finally settling back on confusion. Taylor's worries grew as she stood waiting for her aunt to say anything. Smokescreen had offered to come along to share the news, but she figured the best bet was to do this on her own.
"Aj?"
"Uh…" Aj shook her head and smiled, "Congrats? I…I think it's great, Taylor. Is this what you were gonna tell me before?" Taylor nodded and Aj sighed. Her smile widened, "Well, just like I said before, I'm happy if you're happy. Congrats, Taylor. This is great."
Taylor nearly squealed, "Really?"
"Really."
She lunged forward to wrap her arms around Aj as tightly as she could. Taylor should've known that she could tell her aunt anything. All this time spent worrying for nothing. Aj loved her as is and she should've known that would include the unconditional support that came with it.
"I love you, Aj." Taylor said firmly, "I'm so glad you're back in our lives."
Aj chuckled and tightened the hug, "Me too, Tay. Me too."
