Quick Note about Cecile! She was not born blind, so she does have mannerisms that a sighted person would have due to, well, habits.

CW – Self loathing and depictions of self harm. Watch out for cw:

Lucia didn't know what to tell her ward. She knew what was causing it but she also didn't want to frighten Cecile with new information. Cecile had never experienced a this before so Lucia wasn't sure what to tell the dear.

Cecile sat there pleasantly with an expecting expression, awaiting some form of judgment from her. Lucia sighed softly as she smiled and gave Cecile a sweet look, one that she knew the girl would not see. She settled for the truth. "Ma cherie, that's wonderful!"

"Come again?" The girl blinked in stupor.

"Oui, ma cherie, it's fantastic!" Lucia said with joy in her voice. "I'm assuming these feelings are towards that young man, Lucius, who has been visiting you?"

Cecile's face turned a brilliant shade of red. Lucia raised a brow in amusement. "Your face answers my question." She chuckled. Cecile looked indignant as she turned her head to hide her face and embarrassment.

"Is that… bad?" Cecile asked unsure. "I mean, we've barely known each other." Lucia looked surprised before her expression turned soft with a delicate smile and sweet eyes.

"No, never, cherie. I remember your mother and father were much the same." At that, Cecile's eyes widened with curiosity. Lucia smiled. "Your parents fell in love much the same way, sweethearts that they were. And seeing as you've spent the past couple of days with Mr. Lucius, it doesn't surprise me at all." Lucia said reassuringly. Cecile looked still rather sheepish but she nodded nonetheless.

"Well! In any case, I need to return to my work, Lucia." Cecile announced, smiling slightly. Lucia smiled in amusement and nodded.

"Of course, my dear." The elder woman said gently as she moved aside to let Cecile walk passed. She watched as the girl walked out the door and into the hallway. Lucia exhaled a heavy sigh as she considered things.

She trusted Cecile to take care of herself, but at the same time, she worried for her. The way Lucius and the others spoke was… strangely familiar in its unfamiliarity, as if she had heard someone use similar terminology before. There was something weird about the man. Something that told her that they weren't exactly who they claimed. But she knew that Cecile wouldn't just trust any random stranger. She wondered what could have caused Cecile to put her utmost faith in this man…

Lucia tried not to worry as she sat down and exhaled once more, hoping that Cecile knew what she was doing. And she hoped for the best. For both of them.

It was Blitzwing's obnoxious singing that caused Lugnut to get irritated. That ridiculous loon of a 'con was making so much of a ruckus. He gritted his denta as he looked at Shockwave, who was fiddling with a machine.

"Shockwave, may I go tell Blitzwing to silence himself lest I go and make him shut up?" Lugnut asked dryly.

"No, no," Shockwave said, which made Lugnut's optic widen in horror. Shockwave was quick to console him. "I shall go inquire. I shall return soon."

Shockwave walked down the halls and came to Blitzwing's personal quarters. He could hear the loud and off key singing of Blitzwing, more specifically of Randon's voice. It was definitely not a pleasant sound, and it was very distracting. Shockwave knocked on the door, getting Blitzwing to quiet themselves. The door then opened as the Random personality appeared with a grin that stretched from audio receptor to audio receptor.

"Oh! Hello, Shockwave! Come to join the party?" The insane 'con laughed. He was quickly replaced by Icy, the calmer personality.

"Oh, Shockwave, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"Lugnut was threatening to come and break your face because of your… em, singing." Shockwave said smoothly. Blitzwing's Icy personality was replaced with Random once more.

"Oh! But I am practicing, you know! I have a wonderful femmefriend I want to impress!" He cackled as his grin spread out further. Shockwave pause as he considered Blitzwing's proclamation.

"A Femmefriend?" He asked. Immediately thereafter, Icy resumed control with a look that betrayed nothing. Internally, he was chastising Random for nearly blowing their cover.

"Please ignore him, my friend. His words are just as confusing to us as they are to you." Icy explained smoothly. Shockwave stared before he shook his head.

"In any case, please do keep it down, lest Lugnut does act on his violent urges." Shockwave replied before he walked away and didn't look back, leaving Blitzwing to exhale a sigh of relief. That had been close.

But Shockwave wasn't one to let something go. He was the intelligence officer for a reason. The only reason he was even technically in charge was because he knew most about the Shatter Crystals and how to utilize them. He remembered the Great War and from where the Crystals came from, their power. It would be enough to defeat Megatron, which was their goal.

And Blitzwing's behavior was most… curious.

Shockwave couldn't dwell on it though. He needed to perfect the Aura Collector. He knew that in time, Blitzwing's secrets would be revealed one way or another.

CW:

Cecile stared at nothing in particular, her gaze was far-off and of course, she couldn't see a damn thing. She knew where she was, in the bathroom, clutching the side of the sink tightly. She breathed heavily as she brought the sharp razor to her arm.

She hated herself. She couldn't do anything right. Her brother would always find something wrong with her even when she did something right or would downright ignore her affections or desires for comfort and family. She loved them but hated everything about them. But it was always her fault. They wouldn't do this if they didn't think there was something wrong with her.

And there was something wrong with her. She knew this. She was pale and thin. She had disabilities and her body didn't function properly. She was suffering, but her brother looked after her. He made sure she got medication and proper help and all they asked from her was for her to provide them with songs.

So that was all she did.

But it still didn't make her feel any better. But for that, she knew she couldn't complain. He was her family, she couldn't just "choose her family." That wasn't how things worked…

But regardless, everything hurt. She thought that with the Trio with her that she could fight it off. But she couldn't, she didn't know how. It was still painful, she still hated herself. Even when she felt happy with someone, she still felt alone. She was always alone.

He would leave too. It was only a matter of time. Everyone she loved always left. It was always her fault…

Always her fault…

:CW

Blitzwing wasn't sure what to expect as they waited at the location they had agreed to meet at. Seeing as they were going to downtown Detroit to go Christmas shopping, they decided that they should "dress" nicely for their holoform. They were dressed in their usual colors but were wearing a thicker jacket that was formal, with black pants and dress shoes. A scarf was tucked away properly (according to humans.) Since Icy was in control at the time, his hair was slicked back and comfortably.

He exhaled as he looked around and waited. He checked his internal clock and realized that she was several cycles late. He glanced around and started to wonder.

"What if she decided not to come?" Hothead asked, some worry seeping into his voice.

"Cici? Never! She wouldn't do that to us!" Random replied confidently.

"How do you know?" Hothead snapped back.

"I mean, come on, it's Cici! Are you blind?" Random laughed before he wiggled his brows suggestively. "Why do you care?"

"Ugh! Do not do that!" Hothead yelled. "I care not if she's coming or not!"

"Suuuuure!~" Random giggled.

"Excuse me." Icy hissed as he resumed control and looked around at the people who were starting to stare at them. He gave them apologetic looks. Most of them gave him lingering stares before turning away and scattering off. As they left, Icy's cool expression resumed as he looked around for Cecile before he spotted her. She was dressed warmly and in a navy wool poncho. She had a matching mittens and a took. Icy's expression turned soft and walked over to her.

"Hello Cecile." He greeted. Cecile's expression immediately brightened as she turned her head upwards in his direction.

"Hello, Lucius." She said sweetly. Icy noted her tone and smiled warmly in response as he chuckled.

"Where are we going?" He asked softly.

"Follow me!" She smiled as she walked straight ahead. Blitzwing quickly followed. As they walked together, they realized that she was walking without bumping into anything. A question he decided to save for later as they entered a large building that was very fancy and within it had even more fancy stores and places. Cecile immediately ran into a store, which forced Blitzwing to follow her quickly to avoid losing her. It was a clothes store that had very expensive looking items, at least by human standards.

Icy had been doing some research into human shopping customs to avoid looking suspicious or to further confuse Cecile. He didn't doubt her intelligence. Just because she was socially untrained it didn't make her stupid. If they gave her enough clues, he had no doubt she would be able to figure them out. And none of them wanted that.

As far as they were concerned, Lucius, Heinrich, and Raine were not Decepticons, but three alters within a human body, accompanying their human friend. A very wonderful and gentle human friend who in their optics could do no wrong. As far as they were concerned, Cecile didn't need to know who they really were.

The holoform and the Decepticon had different lives. And Blitzwing intended on keeping it that way.

Cecile pulled out a lengthy dress and waved Blitzwing over. She pulled the dress up to her for them to see. "What colors are on this dress? I can tell it's poofy and very frilly but I need to know the colors!"

Hothead was fronting and he wasn't quite sure what to say. He had no idea what any of those terms meant. However, he could answer her about the colors of the dress.

"It is dark blue…?" He answered awkwardly. He suddenly felt very flustered as he watched her think with a finger to her chin.

"That usually isn't my color, but I will try it out!" She exclaimed excitedly as she continued picking out dresses. Hothead snorted, the irony was not lost on him. Each time she asked him about different colors, he got more and more comfortable with answering her questions. Hothead even found himself smiling at her antics several times.

"What about this?" She pulled out a final dress to hold in her arms. It was long and elegant, and it was black with small star designs on it. It was sleeveless with fabric wrapping around the neck but it opened up a section on the chest area to show off cleavage. It looked absolutely beautiful. And suddenly, Hothead wanted to see her try it on.

"I think you should try it on. It's black but with stars on it. I think it would… fit you." He said a bit sheepishly, unsure how to approach this. Cecile looked at him in surprise before she smiled widely and nodded. She eagerly jittered away, asking Hothead to help her find the changing room.

Hothead managed to locate a changing room. She rushed in, leaving him to stand outside the room. He thought about seeing her in that dress. It was very… revealing. Why was he even getting worked up about it? It was just a stupid human piece of clothing!

"Hey Heinrich?" Her angelic voice suddenly called out. His attention snapped back to her and he was stunned into silence.

The dress was gorgeous on her. It was form fitting and hugged her nicely. It showed off her limited curves due to being quite thin, although she did have some small yet subtle curves. Her bust was small but the dress did show off some of her cleavage, as minimal as it was. She looked very shy in the obvious change in her regular style.

"How do I look? This isn't usually something I wear.." She blushed. Hothead swallowed hard as he shook his head to rid himself of any intrusive thoughts.

"It is very… um…"

"Beautiful and sexy!" Random growled teasingly as he took control and in turn betrayed what Hothead was thinking, albeit far less bluntly. Cecile's face turned even more red.

"You really think so, Raine?" She asked softly.

"Slag yes, girl! You look sassy and stunning!" Random exclaimed boldly. He didn't know how, but her face grew even darker and she grinned.

"Thank you, Raine…" She whispered just loudly enough for them to hear. Random grinned widely as he nodded enthusiastically and picked her up into his arms. She squealed out in surprise.

"I'd like to see you out of this cute dress~" He winked at her and even though she couldn't see it, her blush returned tenfold as her eyes met his out of habit.

"R-Raine!" She exclaimed. On one hand, he could tell she really liked his affections and his words but on the other hand, they were in a very public place. And while there was nobody around them to witness this, she didn't know that.

"Someone will see!" She half giggled and half pleaded.

"I very much agree!" Icy resumed control and immediately put her down gently. He cleared his throat as he looked at the still flustered Cecile. And he was surprised as to what he saw in her eyes.

Desire. She wanted him. He didn't know in what way, but it was present. Of course, there was the sheepishness but she wasn't turned off by Random's advances, if anything, she looked like she enjoyed it. This was going to get complicated, especially with their own feelings mixed in.

Cecile didn't know how to process what just happened. She absolutely loved it, for sure, but she was also super conflicted. Did this mean that they liked her too? Was it just Raine? What was going on in their head. She wasn't stupid – she knew what sex was. And Raine had shown a lot of signs of being sexually into her at that point. And that brought on a lot of questions – did he just want her sexually or did he also want her romantically? Did all of them want that?

She smiled softly at Lucius as she gestured to the changing room and told him she would go change. She decided to take her time, slowly getting out of the dress and trying to figure out just what made her attractive to Raine at least. She felt her hips and waist and didn't feel much of a difference in size. There wasn't much to her, even her bust was small. She didn't understand how.

When she exited the changing room, she had the retail worker take the dresses. She heard the Trio's footsteps as they came to her side.

"Why are you returning those clothes?" Lucius asked confused.

"I can't buy them, Julian doesn't want me to spend on things unnecessarily. I only come here to window-shop." She smiled, though it was sad. Sure, she had her own money and bank, but it was monitored by Julian. He was her representative payee. She heard Lucius shift his weight before she turned to him fully and smiled.

"Let's go! I have places to actually shop at for my family!" She exclaimed as she led them out of the dress store and to another store. This one was specifically for watches, very expensive ones. As she browsed around for some, Lucius's voice caught her attention.

"Those are far more expensive than the dresses we looked at earlier. Who would this present be for?" He asked.

Cecile paused before she answered. "It would be for Julian."

"I see." He paused briefly before he cut to the point. "And how is an even more expensive watch not an 'unnecessary spend?' One I'm sure that he doesn't need?"

"It's… because he deserves it… he works hard…" She tried to justify.

"And what of you? You work just as hard to write excellent pieces of music? If anything, you deserve something like this more than he does." Lucius said bluntly yet honestly.

Cecile knew he was right. But she couldn't admit that, Julian worked hard too. He deserved this just as much. If not more! He did all the things for her. Looked after her, made sure she was healthy and had a home to stay in… But still...

"I…" She didn't say anything else as she picked out a watch and went to go pay for it wordlessly.

She could feel Lucius's eyes on her even though she couldn't see anything.

They continued on with their day without much else happening. Cecile had picked out some more gifts for her family and for Lucia (a present that Blitzwing helped to convince her to buy.) But Random had been ever so curious about her eyesight throughout the whole day.

"Hey Cici?" Random cut in as he looked at her with intrigue. "How are you able to walk without seeing where you are going?"

Cecile looked at him with surprise before she smiled warmly and nodded.

"Well, I have this!" She said cheerily, gesturing to a pair of thin bracelets on her wrists and ankles. "They may not be able to give me proper sight but they can detect when objects are nearby and they send signals to my brain that tell me to avoid stuff."

"Ooooh cool!" Random exclaimed. "So it's like sensors then?"

"Exactly like sensors!" Cecile exclaimed happily before her tone turned somber. "The technology isn't perfect though. Sometimes it messes up. This is the most technology has been able to give me. I wish I could see properly like how I used to…"

At that, Random looked surprised yet shocked into silence for the first time in a long time. Icy and Hothead didn't know what to say to that, so it was all up to Random.

"Used to..?" He asked softly yet concerned. Cecile stopped in her steps as she realized what she had said. Her expression was saddened as she lowered her head. Random bent over to see her expression and he didn't like what he saw.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…" Random said gently and reassuringly, shocking Icy and Hothead into silence and stupor. Cecile raised her head before she smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Raine. But… I think I need to." She stood there before her expression turned serious. "I used to be able to see. I lost my sight in a car crash, I was with my mother and the automaton driver at the time as well. The Automaton failed to spot the car coming our way from the side. The roads were ice and visibility was bad. They crashed into us and…"

She was quiet as she tried not to start crying. She held back her tears before continuing. She could feel Raine's hands on her shoulders. They were comforting but what happened still pained her immensely.

"...And my mother didn't survive. I had asked her to take a detour so we could get sweets from the store… if I hadn't done that then maybe… maybe she…" Cecile started to cry, tears rolling down her face at an accelerated rate. Raine immediately closed the distance and held her closely as she sobbed into his shoulder. She didn't hesitate in returning his hug, sobbing into his hard shoulder.

Random didn't know what to say or think. None of them had any idea that her carrier had died. They had assumed that her carrier was with her sire, traveling off somewhere. Due to Cecile's sobbing, they could tell that she and her mother were close. And it tore their spark out to see her in such pain.

"How… how old were you?" Random asked her softly yet hesitantly. He wasn't sure what compelled him to ask this. But she didn't dismiss his query.

"I-I was 10…" She hiccuped as she tried to answer him clearly. He understood regardless and was left in stunned silence. All of the alters were. Icy was in shock and horror. Hothead was angry that her mother had been taken away from her at such a young age. They all hated how much it clearly hurt Cecile.

"It was my fault… I-I told her to make the turn, I asked her…" She started, distressed.

"No, it was not your fault." Random said very seriously, which surprised Icy and Hothead just as much as before. "You were young, barely out of your sparkling years. You couldn't have known."

Cecile continued to cry into his shoulder as he held her closely. Random did not care how much energy he was using up. It was worth it, especially because Cecile was suffering and if he could comfort her, it was far better to use the energy on that than on anything else.

"I…" Cecile tried to speak but Random quickly hushed her as he stroked her hair and rubbed her head gently, with soft motions. He wished he could actually feel the texture of her hair but did not focus on it at the moment, being too preoccupied with helping calm her down. Eventually, Cecile did stop crying but she sniffled and rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the tears with Random's assistance. Blitzwing looked her over to make sure she was alright before they released her.

"I'm sorry… this was supposed to be a fun get together and I made it miserable." She blamed herself.

"Nooo! Never! Cici, I had a fun time with you today! It was wonderful, and honestly, I'm glad you told me!" Random reassured as he nuzzled her face with his own, rubbing his nose against hers. Cecile blushed as she giggled and smiled.

"Thank you, Raine. You and the others are amazing…" She complimented and Random felt a surge of pride go through all three of them. Cecile suddenly looked solemn as she gave him a serious expression. Blitzwing was confused as to her sudden change in expression.

"My mother left me this in her Will after she passed…" Cecile pulled away her scarf to feel for something beneath it. As she pulled it out, Blitzwing saw what she was fishing out. It was a necklace – plain and simple with a silver chain, but the gem attached to it was a singular blue crystal.

They did their very best to contain their shock and very nearly gasped but held their tongue.

It was a Shatter Crystal! But it was blue? But it looked like a Shatter Crystal nonetheless and the energy signature was there too. And Cecile had it the entire time.

They paused as they regarded her and briefly wondered what they should do. They couldn't just take it away from her, but, as a Decepticon, they needed it to defeat Megatron. As they mulled this over, Cecile caught their attention again.

"Anyway, my mother stressed that this was something so important and special to her. It had belonged to my grandmother and she had passed it down to my mother. I always have it on me because it's something that reminds me of my mama…" Cecile explained as she looked fondly at the memories of her carrier.

Icy had taken over midway through her explanation. He was very intrigued as to how Cecile's grandmother had acquired one of these. The Shatter Crystals had only recently started to appear on Earth due to the Autobot's Naydian ally destroying an artifact that was composed of said gems. So how was it possible that Cecile's grandmother had one? Let alone pass it down to her daughter, who would then pass it down to Cecile?

It would appear that Cecile's family was more than initially met the eye.

"My mom had told me to guard it and keep it close and to take care of it, to eventually give to someone special like children if I ever have any." Cecile smiled warmly. "It's a symbol of my heritage, so my mother would say. But I never understood what she meant by that."

Blitzwing smiled at her but it didn't retract from their concerns and questions. Cecile didn't seem to know a lot about the Crystal or its true nature. So they couldn't simply ask her about it. Besides, that might also give them away as a Decepticon. And as far as they knew, Cecile could be lying. But the more they thought about it, they didn't take her to be the type to lie about something so precious to her. She seemed too honest and trusting to lie, especially to them, someone she claimed to be her guardian angel.

Blitzwing was in a pickle, a serious one, that was for sure.

"Cecile!" A familiar voice called out. Both heads turned towards the sound and Cecile smiled happily. Blitzwing recognized Lucia as she stepped out of a fancy car and walked over to Cecile. "We have to go."

Cecile was slightly disappointed. But she smiled warmly at Blitzwing. "Thank you for today. It was wonderful." She leaned over and gave them a kiss on the cheek.

All three of them immediately became stiff and flustered. Icy had forgotten all about the Shatter Crystal, Hothead was shocked at her displays of affection, and Random was enjoying every second of it, hearts in his eyes.

"I-It was wonderful too…" Icy stammered. Cecile let out a small giggle before she waved to him and walked away to the vehicle with Lucia, parked not too far away. Blitzwing watched her go. Before Hothead took control.

"Cecile!" He called out. She paused and stopped, turning to him in surprise. He closed the distance and couldn't believe what he was about to do. He cupped her face, her face turned pink, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. He smirked as he saw her go completely still and flushed. "Thank you."

With much hesitation, Cecile turned away, waving and giving him a huge smile. Hothead met the gaze of Lucia, who looked pleased.

"Bye, Heinrich, Lucius, Raine!" Cecile exclaimed, still blushing up a storm.

"Bye, Cici!" Random replied happily. As she entered the car, Icy and Random could see how happy Hothead had made her with his equal displays of affection. As Cecile and Lucia drove away, Random couldn't help but sigh dreamily.

"You like her just as much, don't you?~" He half teased. Hothead didn't find himself denying it, to his own surprise. But honestly, none of the alters cared whatsoever. She was such a sweetspark and a genuinely compassionate person. She was deserving of affection and all three wanted to give it to her. Icy wanted to speak to her about music and her life in general. Hothead wanted to protect her and make sure she was safe. And Random wanted to give her so many cuddles. But they all equally cared about her.

But the question of the Shatter Crystal remained. A question that would be solved later, they decided.

As they were about to vanish in thin air, Blitzwing's optics caught the sight of the Dress Store and they realized that they couldn't just leave without doing one last thing. They walked back into the store and decided on buying three dresses - all of which were different favorites of all three of the alters, but all of whom Cecile liked as well. They wouldn't just leave her without any gifts.

Blitzwing proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon shopping for presents for a very special femme…

Edited: 2/28/2022