The next few days had been quite boring for Metalsound, save for a few patrols nothing was out of the ordinary. She was in her beast form laying on top of the Alchemor soaking up as much sun as she could, "As nice as this feels, it's boring! At least with the Decepticons there was something to do," she muttered to herself. Just then the alarms went off, a Decepticon was active.

"Brisk has broken into a concert hall and seems to be stealing some sound systems."

"Brisk?" Metalsound asked.

"He's no doubt stealing this stuff for Steeljaw," says Bumblebee.

"Or it could be for someone else," Metalsound put in trying to take some of the blame off of the Wolf-Con.

"I doubt it, Steeljaw released him and made him part of his pack, he's working for him."

"If you say so, I think I'll sit this mission out," Metalsound replied as she slowly made her way to Strongarm, "Can you think of a way to get out of going on the mission?" She asked quietly, "Steeljaw's been asking to see you."

"Uh... sounds like fun, lieutenant. But I still have some training to catch up on, you have fun at the concert."

"Oh come on, it's a great band."

"Still got training to do, sorry."

"Who's the band?" Metalsound asked.

When Bumblebee told her the name of the group she groaned with disappointment, "Thanks but no thanks."

"Aww, why not? I thought you loved music."

"I do but not incoherent music."

"Really?"

"You can't understand what they're saying."

"That's the whole point!"

"I think I'll help Strongarm with her training," she replied as she followed after Strongarm.

"Alright, suit yourself! Have fun with your training!"

Once Bumblebee was out of sight and Grimlock, Fixit, and Danny were doing their own thing Metalsound leaned over to the cadet, "You ready?"

Strongarm was feeling a bit nervous about all this but she wanted to see Steeljaw again, "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Then let's go," she grinned as she headed towards the scrapyard's gate. Strongarm followed her.

Metalsound was quiet while she kept an optic out for Steeljaw or any other Decepticon that would probably be lurking in the forest.

"So you've been keeping in contact with Steeljaw this whole time you were with us?"

"Only when I go on my flights. I get some time to myself and he gets updated on your condition. Like I said before, he was worried about you."

"And I'm guessing he's been asking you to help me sneak away to see him."

"Yep," she replied as she came to a halt. Slowly turning her helm she kept an optic out for anything out of the ordinary, any scent that shouldn't be there. This was when she acted more like a Predacon, or an animal that lived in the wild.

"Is someone nearby?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure of who. I'm still getting used to their scents, it's hard to do so when there are so many other Decepticons around at the same time. There are two of them up ahead, just past the river," she explained quietly.

Strongarm gets out her Decepticon hunter. Metalsound could hear branches snapping as whoever it was, was getting closer. She relaxed as she caught one familiar scent, and giggled when she saw the two mechs, "Thunderhoof came as well Steeljaw?"

"Yeah, he wanted to see you," Steeljaw says mostly keeping his optics on Strongarm, his tail was wagging as he was filled with joy to see her again.

"Oh really?" She asked teasingly as she tried to hide her blush. She pushed Strongarm closer to Steeljaw, "Have fun you two."

"Um, hi," Strongarm greeted as Metalsound walked over to Thunderhoof.

"How are you feeling?" Steeljaw asked a bit awkwardly, he really wanted to just grab her and kiss her but he didn't want to scare her.

"I'm better, thanks," Strongarm didn't know what to say or do. Part of her was wishing that Metalsound had stayed, "So, what have you been up to?"

"Uh... do you really want to know?"

"Not really."

"Ask how his day was!"

Strongarm jumped at the sudden yell from the other femme, "Um, how was your day?"

"A bit dull until now," Steeljaw gave her a smile.

"That's good, I wish she hadn't yelled like that though," Strongarm replied with a light blush.

Steeljaw chuckled a bit, "Don't worry about it, she's just trying to help. You've never done anything like this before, have you?"

"Not really. I mean this goes against everything that I learned, and it feels like I'm just throwing it away."

"Do you have any feelings for me?" Steeljaw asks with a saddened look.

"Um, I'm not really sure," Strongarm confessed.


"Dummy, that's a good way to make her even more nervous," Metalsound hissed.

"Steel better do something fast or he's gonna lose her," Thunderhoof adds in as they watch the pair from a distance.

"Do you think it's a little weird that we're watching them? I feel like we should leave them alone instead of watching them from the shadows like a couple of creepers."

"Yeah I suppose, but I want to know how this plays out."

They then see Steeljaw move in closer to Strongarm.

"I'm sure he will tell you, now come on."

Metalsound walked deeper into the forest to give the two some privacy. She was going to ask Strongarm for the details later.


Strongarm took a small step back when Steeljaw moved closer to her. Was he going to try to kiss her again? Part of her wanted him to but she was still unsure of what his motives were.

"Maybe this will help," Steeljaw tries to grab her and kiss her.

She had a small feeling he was going to try that again. Strongarm ducked out of the way before he could and she quickly moved behind him, "Is that all that you came here for Steeljaw?"

He turns and looks at her, "What's wrong? Didn't you enjoy the kiss as much as I did the last time?"

"I did, but," Strongarm paused while she tried to think, "I want to learn a little more about you first."

"Right, would be best if we got to know each other before we started anything. Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Well, what made you want to become a Decepticon?"

Steeljaw started rubbing his helm, "Um... I didn't... much care for the Autobots, due to something that happened when I was a pup."

"What happened?"

"It was while the war was still going on, an explosion happened near where we were hiding out and it killed my sire and carrier, I later found out the explosion was made by a group of Autobots, had a hatred for Autobots ever since. Then I started having dealings with the Autobots always trying to ruin my operations."

Strongarm stayed quiet while Steeljaw told his story, so he had a reason for being the Decepticon he was today, "I-I'm sorry about your parents, I grew up with one of the off-world colonies that had left a few months before the war started. I was really little so I don't really remember much about it, other than the stories they told us at the Academy."

"Now you tell me, what made you want to become an Autobot officer?"

"My sire, he was the second in command to Optimus Prime and I wanted to be just like him. So I studied as hard as I could to get in and make him proud."

"That explains why you're so by the book and think nothing can be right outside of the officer's book," Strongarm glares at him, "What? Just speaking the truth, but you have changed."

"Hey, I still look up to him, he was my hero as a sparkling! He still is!"

"No doubt, but you didn't have to be a 'go by the book' tight aft, you're better when you're loose like you are now."

"I think that's what Metalsound was trying to tell me earlier."

"What was she trying to tell you?"

"Something along the lines of living on the wild side, if anything I think she lives on the wild side," she chuckled at her bad joke.

"You don't have to go all rogue but you could do with being on the wild side a bit."

"I'll try. What do you do when you're not busy?"

"Mostly just sit around and think of what I'm gonna do for my next mission. But lately, I've been thinking about when I'm gonna see you again."

Strongarm looked to the ground, hoping he wouldn't see her blush, "When did you realize that you liked me?"

"I think I liked you ever since I first saw you, then you really impressed me during our last fight and I started liking you more. But I was in denial until Metalsound opened my optics to my own feelings."

"She seems to be good at making you see how a bot feels."

Steeljaw just hummed in agreement before a question popped up in his processor, "Do you have a special mech in your life?"

"Not really, I mean other than Bumblebee but he's my mentor and I look up to him."

"Do you have feelings for him?" Steeljaw asks feeling his spark starting to break at the thought.

"He's more like the brother I never had, same goes for Grimlock, Sideswipe's more like a crazy cousin."

Steeljaw laughed, "He is crazy."

Strongarm laughed as well, "Not to mention he thinks he can do everything on his own, and he's a show-off."

"So I've noticed. So, um... have you ever had a boyfriend before? Just curious."

"No, I never really had the time. Between studying and the Acadamy, plus I don't think any bot would think that I'm good company."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"I think a part of me is worried that they might judge me because of Ultra Magnus, and they may feel threatened because I'm one of the few femmes that are trying to become a police officer."

"Not to mention a mech could be intimidated by a femme that can kick their aft," Steeljaw says with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Strongarm chuckled softly, "Did you always work alone, or did you have help?"

"Sometimes I worked alone sometimes I worked with others."

"Were any of them femmes?" She asked nervously.

"I've worked with a few, yes."

"Did you ever like any of them?" She felt a twinge of jealousy, unsure of why.

"No, none was really my type."

"Oh, well, what is your type?"

"A femme that is beautiful, not a backstabber, can really handle herself, and doesn't rely on the mech to take care of her at all times."

"Sounds kind of like Metalsound, only she has backstabbed the Decepticons," she replied half-jokingly.

"Yeah, so it does. But there's another femme I know which meets what I look for in a femme."

"And who would that be?" She knew who he was talking about, she just wanted to hear it for herself.

"You."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. The femmes I've encountered before, the femmes I worked with weren't all that pretty and just didn't do it for me. Honestly, I thought I would never find a femme who would be fit to be with me until I met you. Also, none of the other femmes really saw me as that type of mech, most of them were afraid of me or just didn't like me because of my features."

"It shouldn't matter how you look, who you are on the inside is what should matter," Strongarm told him as she slowly made her way to him, "And you helped me see that."

Steeljaw looks at her, his spark pulsing really fast, "I did?"

"Yeah, at first I thought you were a criminal, but not fully by choice. You had a reason."

"I did, glad you could see it, not many would see it."

With a little hesitation, she took his servo in hers, closing the distance between them. Steeljaw looks down at her, his spark pulsing as fast as a freight train, "You're so beautiful, and your optics put the moon to shame."

Strongarm's spark skipped a beat when he said that, she had never gotten a compliment like that before. She couldn't think of anything else, she just got lost in his optics, something about them just drew her in.

"May I now kiss you, please?"

Without thinking Strongarm closed the distance as her lips met with his. Steeljaw wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight as he kissed her back. Wrapping her arms around his neck Strongarm realized what Metalsound had been saying, and she didn't regret seeing him again.