The Holoform

…

"What are you doing back so soon?"

Aria's eye's slowly drifted open thanks to the muffled voice behind her bedroom door. Why was Wheelie being so loud in the morning?

About to pull the covers over her head to block out the sunlight, she paused. When did she get home last night?

"Hey wait, you can't just-"

Aria's door abruptly opened. Holding onto the handle was Ironhide's holoform, and behind him was Wheelie who slowly let go of the former's leg.

She nearly shrieked, pulling the covers up to her neck. What the hell was Ironhide doing here?

That was when the memories came back; tripping on practically nothing, Ironhide carrying her home…and then resting her eyes on the bus. Damn it! Why couldn't she be a normal human being for once in her life?

The thought of him putting her to bed was both mortifying and sweet. Now he knew what her house looked like. What her room looked like. And worst of all, what she looked like while she slept. What if she snored?

"You are awake?" Ironhide asked from the doorway. He hadn't moved an inch since she reacted despite Wheelie hissing at him to get out of her room.

Aria ran her fingers through her messy hair. Who knew what she looked like. Her makeup was probably a mess between mascara and eyeshadow. It didn't help she still wore last nights clothes either.

She carefully sat up. Her ankle throbbed at the movement. "Yeah—yeah I am." She finally met his eyes. "Thanks for, uh, bringing me home."

"I didn't know if I was supposed to wake you."

"I can't believe you let me fall asleep in the first place. I'm sorry, guess I was tired."

"Healing requires rest, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but I just have a sprained ankle. Nothing serious." She pulled the cover back to reveal her leg and smoothed her skirt to cover as much as her thigh as possible.

The appendage looked normal enough, until the large swollen bulge where her ankle should have been.

Ironhide let go of the door handle and came to the side of her bed, his eyes never leaving the injury.

"Don't touch it," she said as he went to reach out.

He complied, but brought his face closer, examining it.

While he looked at her ankle, she couldn't help but look at his face. Though his expression was overly neutral, his eyes showed moderate concern. But his lack of expression wasn't even close to how unnatural he looked in sunlight. Much more so than the club. So many things were ever so slightly off. Uncanny almost.

The mattress shifted and Wheelie appeared over the foot of the bed as he crawled up. "Oh boy, that looks nasty."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Which, the swelling or the color?"

"Both," Wheelie said, he held out a finger and poked her ankle before she could react.

"Ow," she emphasized, even if the little poke didn't hurt that much.

"Ew, its hot and squishy. Maybe you should see one of those doctors or whatever."

Ironhide looked from Wheelie back to her leg. If anything, he looked more concerned than before. Then it was his turn to touch the swollen appendage despite her protests, but instead of poking, he placed his entire hand over it.

"OW," she said even louder, glaring at him.

But his hand remained.

"I will take you to the hospital," he said after letting go.

Aria adjusted the blanket back over her leg. Hopefully that would deter any further touching. "I don't need to go to the hospital for a twisted ankle."

"What if it's broken?" Ironhide straightened back to his full height.

"It's not."

"How do you know?"

Aria laced her fingers together on her lap and leaned back on her pillow. "I don't."

"And how does one find out?" By the face he was making, he already knew he won.

Aria glared at him. "Fine."

"How are you going to take her? You're at the base," Wheelie interjected.

Aria followed Wheelie's gaze back to Ironhide. "You're at the base?"

Ironhide raised a brow. "I'm not allowed to be here, remember?"

"I didn't think you could be that far away."

"You're home is only twenty three miles away from the base. My range is roughly four hundred." He held his chin high.

"Is it difficult to do? Wheelie told me it takes a lot of concentration."

Ironhide threw the small robot a sideways glance before regarding Aria again. "It isn't difficult for me."

Aria nodded. Typical Ironhide answer.

Wheelie jumped off the bed. "We'll wait outside while you get ready."

Wheelie made it to the door first, waiting for Ironhide to exit the room before closing her door behind both of them.

Aria straightened her back. "Wait, are we taking the bus then?"

But no one heard her.

Carefully, Aria got up, first unwrapping herself from the mess of blankets, then shimmying over to the side of the bed.

She swung her good leg down before slowly letting down the other. It throbbed like a mother. Every ounce of blood felt like a sack of bricks as it flowed into her foot.

Why did the closet have to be so far away? She'd have to hop.

Grabbing onto her bed post, she stood on her good leg. Maybe it would be better to go to the bathroom first.

She washed her face and brushed her teeth, then stripped from her clothes and stumbled into the bath. Not like she could shower anyway, slipping would probably be the end of her.

After bathing, she made her way to the closet. Pants were out of the question. Who was she kidding? Pants were nearly always out of the question. But at the same time, her ankle wasn't a pretty sight.

Her eyes fell on a long summer dress. Perfect.

She held onto the stairway railing with both hands, taking her time going down. She only made it about three stairs before Ironhide came from around the corner and up the stairs to meet her. He held out his hand for her to hold onto.

Of course she accepted it.

Placing her hand in his wasn't so bad. But the moment he wrapped his fingers around hers, realization dawned on her. She was holding Ironhide's hand.

No, no. His holoform's hand. There was a difference…Just like being carried.

As they descended the stairs, her eyes lingered on Ironhide's hand, then up to his strong wrist and forearm that was covered by his dark jacket.

He cleared his throat, or rather mimicked the sound. Aria's eyes shot up to his face, startled out of her trance. They made it to the main floor.

Looking closely at him now, she said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Your face looks weird."

Ironhide raised an eyebrow. Wheelie snickered from somewhere in the living room.

What? If he wanted to pass as human in broad daylight, he'd have to work on his human camouflage.

"Come on punk, let's go," Ironhide gave her a gentle pull towards him and led her towards the door.

Aria's eyes slid over to the small robot. "You coming, Wheelie?"

"Nah, three's a crowd," he replied from the couch.

"All right. Don't burn the house down, and don't leave Sirius outside for too long."

"Uh huh, uh huh," Wheelie droned.

Aria slipped on a pair of sandals, leaning on the back of the couch for support. She then grabbed her bag while Ironhide opened the door.

The second they stepped outside, Sirius was at Ironhide's feet, sniffing his legs.

"Why won't this damn thing leave me alone?"

Aria told Sirius to sit and he complied. "You probably don't have a scent, so he's confused why you don't smell like anything other than your surroundings."

He let out a very Ironhide like grunt in response, giving Sirius a final look before holding his hand out for her once again. He helped her down the steps.

"Do you want me to carry you?" He asked once she made it down.

She eyed him. It didn't sound like he was making fun of her, but it was more likely she just missed it in his tone. Either way, a part of her was inclined to say yes. But no.

"No thank you, I can probably make it if I can lean on you."

Ironhide let go of her hand and offered his arm instead. "Why? Afraid you'll fall asleep again?"

It wasn't hard to miss that time.

She linked hers to it. "No. I'm afraid you'd drop me."

He scoffed at her smirk.

They walked arm in arm down the road bordered by lush deciduous trees. Occasionally homes closer to the road could be spotted between the foliage, while dogs barked at them as they passed by.

Ironhide walked slowly as she limped by his side, putting as little weight as possible on her bad foot. Because of that, most of her weight was on him, but he didn't tease her for it, which was unusual. He hadn't even mentioned her footwear since.

They just walked in silence, and it was nice.

They made it to the bus stop on the corner. Traffic was minimal, only a few cars passing by now and again. Aria let go of Ironhide's holoform and sat down on the bench. She lifted the dress enough to see her ankle. It didn't look any worse, but it didn't look any better either.

Letting her dress fall back over the injury, she looked up to Ironhide who stood beside the bench. He was still looking down at her now hidden ankle. He must have realized he was staring because his eyes flickered up to hers.

She patted the bench beside her, but he still didn't move. Maybe he didn't know what the gesture meant. "Come sit down beside me."

"That is not necessary," he replied, crossing his arms instead. Honestly, he looked like a bodyguard; the way he stood with his shoulders pulled back and head held high.

He really needed to relax for once. She reached out and pinched his pants by his knee and tried pulling him towards her. He didn't budge, but her focus was redirected toward the feeling of the fabric under her fingertips. They weren't really clothes, just a part of his holoform, but how did they feel so real? Like he perfected the clothing but not his human features.

"How come your clothes are more realistic than your skin?"

He looked down at her with his usual blank expression. "That's classified."

According to Wheelie, Ironhide had to examine things closely to get them right, which would mean he'd looked at clothing closer than humans.

"You snuck into Lennox's place with your holoform to look at clothing, didn't you?"

He hmphed and looked away, suddenly interested in a Dodge driving down the road. So she was right after all.

"If you need to examine a human closer, you can use me," she offered. Maybe that sounded wrong? Whatever, he'd never noticed a sexual innuendo before.

"Fine," he grumbled and sat down in the spot she previously patted.

Without much warning, he leaned in so close that if he breathed, she would have been able to feel it. His bright blue eyes scanned the details of her face. As he did, his features subtlety changed. Small pores and the slight discolouration of veins under the skin appeared.

Ironhide's blue eyes met her hazel ones. His irises dulled to a more realistic shade and became instantly more realistic. It was like watching someone turn up the resolution in a video.

Finally, he leaned back, but he wasn't done yet.

He took her hand and examined it. He raised his other hand and ran it over her fingers, feeling them down to her nails, then turning her had around and looking at her palm, completely transfixed.

His gentle touch sent pleasant tingles down her spine. When was the last time someone touched her like this?

Ironhide abruptly released her hand and stood up. The sound of squealing brakes signaled the arrival of the bus. Ironhide outstretched his hand to help her up.

She took it and pulled herself up. As she did, her gaze met his.

He looked completely different.

His holoform went from passable in low light, to an actual person. No, more than that. He was handsome.

She tore her eyes away before he could call out her staring. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out her bus pass along with some additional change. The bus driver gave her his usual greeting but nearly faltered when he noticed Ironhide behind her.

She sat in her spot near the front of the bus, Ironhide's much more realistic looking holoform sitting down beside her. The bus pulled back onto the street.

"How is your foot?" Ironhide asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It's seen better days. Probably going to take a while to heal though." She sighed. "I'll have to call into work today."

He nodded, looking toward the front of the bus.

"You're holoform looks much better now."

His eyes snapped over to her.

"What? No one can hear us over the sound of the bus. I can barely hear myself think half the time."

After a moment he spoke. "I thought I made myself look worse."

"Why's that?"

"Both you and the driver looked taken back when you saw me."

Aria hastily looked at the seat in front of her. "No no. I was impressed actually."

"And the driver?"

"Probably surprised someone was with me."

"He'll get used to it then." Ironhide replied, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

She could have swore he was eyeing the driver through the rear view mirror.

The bus stop was a short walk to the hospital. They strolled mostly in silence on the way there, but that was probably because she was too focused on walking to keep a conversation going.

They were greeted by the cool air of the hospital as they entered the sliding doors. The waiting room was fairly crowded with people in various states of distress. Most talked amongst themselves, while others were quiet. Some looked fine, and some looked pale and held onto injured limbs.

They strode up to the reception where a lady sat behind a desk with a glass divider. She looked up as they approached.

"How may I help you?" she asked politely.

Aria smiled back at the lady. "Hi, I tripped last night and wanted to get my ankle checked out."

"Please fill this out and bring it back to me," the lady instructed. "If you find a free chair, feel free to prop your leg on it."

Aria thanked her and headed over to some empty seats, there were two side by side, but no spares for her foot. Oh well.

She sat and started filling out the form, beginning with her name and address. Ironhide not so subtly watched her write from over her shoulder.

"What did that female mean when she told you to prop up your leg?"

"Oh, just to help swelling," she replied, checking off some boxes.

"It has to do with your circulatory system?"

Aria turned to him, not hiding her grin. "Yes, exactly. Lymph fluid builds up at the sight of an injury as a part of healing. But due to gravity, it doesn't circulate very well, so we can elevate our injury to help it drain."

"That sounds disgusting."

"Why, thank you," Aria practically sung in response and went back to her form. It was a breeze compared to the stuff she had to fill out at the base.

She was about to get up to hand the form back to the receptionist but was stopped by Ironhide taking the clipboard from her.

He got up and strode purposefully over the desk, gaining the attention of many of the seated people. It wasn't like he was insanely tall or excessively built, either. He was well proportioned with wide shoulders and broad chest that tapered down to a slim waist. It was more how he walked. Like a soldier that demanded the attention of everyone in the room without a single word.

She turned her attention to her hands. She really needed to stop staring.

Ironhide came back and took his seat next to her. Suddenly, she didn't want to look at him.

"Give me your foot."

She looked. "What?"

This time, it was him making a gesture of patting his thigh.

Aria's eyes travelled between his face and his hand. Was he being serious right now?

He raised an eyebrow.

Aria scanned the people around who were busy in their own worlds. "Fine."

She swiveled in her seat so her back was on the arm rest and lifted her leg onto his lap just above his knee.

Ironhide secured her foot with his hand. His thumb rested on the top of her foot where the swelling started. Ever so gently, he stroked her skin.

Aria turned away once again as her skin warmed up. She should have said no.

"I can feel your pulse you know."

She didn't have to look to tell he was smirking.

It was another two hours before she was finally able to see a doctor. The nurse guided them to a room and had her sit on a gurney. Ironhide sat down in a chair in the corner. The nurse told them the doctor would be by shortly and left.

She suppressed a shudder, the last time she saw a doctor was back on the ship, and that wasn't a fun time. Compared to the waiting room, the office was quiet and cold. She should have brought a sweater.

Ironhide was looking around. First at the desk, then to the posters on the wall depicting skeletons and internal organ systems. Unfortunately for him, she needed a distraction.

"Hey, bet you can't do this!" she teased and stuck her tongue out at him.

He looked visibly taken back and then narrowed his eyes. "What is that thing?"

Aria laughed at his response. "It's my tongue," she said through giggles.

He got up and stepped in front of her, leaning down so his face was close to hers. Her cheeks tingled with warmth.

"Show it to me."

She stuck her tongue out again. What she didn't expect was him to reach up and pinch it. They both recoiled immediately.

"It's wet!" Ironhide hissed, wiping his fingers on his pants.

Aria burst out laughing again. "What did you expect?"

Ironhide looked offended, as if it were her fault that his fingers got wet. Then out of nowhere he stuck his tongue out at her. A perfectly replicated tongue!

"All right, do this then," she challenged, bringing both her brows as high as she could on her forehead, feigning surprise.

Ironhide seemed to accept the challenge and mimicked her surprised expression. She then drew her brows close together and pulled her lips taunt, glaring at him as hard as she could. He scrunched his face for a moment like he was trying to figure out which muscles to use, then finally produced a rather intimidating glare.

Aria nodded happily in approval. She was about to make another expression for him to copy but stopped. Ironhide was already trying to do the same happy smile she must have been making.

Her heart skipped a beat when he had it perfected, it reminded her of her own dumb grin. It was adorable.

"What?" he asked in mock offence, even then his smile grew bigger to match hers.

She couldn't resist. "You're cute when you smile."

Ironhide's smile settled into a lopsided grin, it looked much more genuine than his previous attempts of the expression.

They were interrupted by the door of the small room opening, revealing the doctor. She strode into the room and sat down at the small desk, typing on her computer. The room went quiet as if the moment they just shared had never happened.

…

Ah, I remember back in the day when I said I wasn't going to use holoforms in this story. Now it's all apart of my plot-THE plot, I mean!