I only own Marianne! Everything else belongs to Hasbro!
~Bonds, Hot Spot~
~Bonds, Blades~
~Bonds, First Aid~
~Bonds, Groove~
~Bonds, Streetwise~
~Bonds, Marianne/Mariposa~
"Normal"
'Thoughts'
"Comms or phone, other side"
"Bumblebee, Tones"
"Bumblebee, Comms"
"Bumblebee, Radio"
Finally Moved In
The next day, morning
I shift out of the rather-comfortable cuddle pile, still in my bot-form, and trying my hardest to not wake the others. 'Speaking of the others…' I glance over them. They're all still out, but it is still early—early for me anymore, anyway, but they'd been called in on an emergency at three in the morning—I'd barely woken up when they'd left, and, though I'd been on top—wow, that sounds dirty—the night before, I wound up underneath everyone this morning, which made my doorwings hurt… 'Ow…' I shift my doorwings slightly as I start down the stairs. 'Maybe Aid can do something—when he gets up, because I'm definitively not waking him right now.' I check my watch and sigh. 'Six in the morning… Damn. My delivery won't be here 'til ten, and the moving truck is supposed to be here at eight.'
"Hey."
I glance down, then shift back to my human form for the first time since yesterday—I feel safer as a bot, but I need to get used to being safe as a human unless I wanna work for EMS as an ambulance—which I don't. I kneel before running my hand through what looks like glowing blue hair. "Hey, Little Guy. What's wrong?"
He doesn't have the weird and creepy brain connection headband on anymore, but we're still working on his leg—I may have an affinity for medicine, but that hasn't clicked with Cybertronian anatomy yet, which means Aid's having to rebuild his leg on his own. Because of that, Aid and I brought him inside with us, so we could help him. "Just tryin' ta get some energon."
I nod, then hand him some out of what I had grabbed to try myself—Low Grade, as Aid had told me—which wound up sitting in front of me when I returned to human form. "Just ask one of us next time, Brains." I sigh, deciding not to stay in human form so early—I hate it now, after all—and shift back into my bot-form. I help him onto their couch before sitting beside him with my cube. "Guess Wheelie didn't make it…"
"Haven't seen him."
"Me neither, and we've got the frames from KSI, which means if he is alive, he's still running around Chicago." I smile. I like that idea better than the Wheelie's-dead-and-still-under-the-Chicago-river one.
"And if he's not?"
"Then we'll—I'll—go under the river to get him, and we'll bring him back. I know he's your friend, and he could be a great symbiote…" I run a hand over his head. "Just like you could…"
"Shockwave only wanted something living to get intel, and…" He sighs. "Soundwave told Wheelie he'd make him one of his if he succeeded at getting the shard."
"And he didn't, so he didn't get the position." I smile. "He did something better, anyway. He changed sides, which was very brave of him."
The minicon beside me sighs. "You going anywhere today?"
I shake my head. "Sorry, Buddy. If I do, it won't be 'til after my deliveries get here, and then I've got too much to do…" I sigh softly. "And I really need to get some work done on my stories before I wind up being a non-functioning Protectobot." I sigh softly. "Or, more honestly, one who functions like a child." I sigh softly. "I wish we could re-make it sometime, so I didn't have to be in human form to use it, but that would be weird, and I wouldn't have it for my class, or when we're out." I lean back against the couch.
~Mari?~
I laugh softly. "Well, Aid's up, and I think a little scared…" I sigh. ~I'm fine, Guys. I'm downstairs with Brains.~
~You're sure?~
I sigh softly. No, I'm not sure, because my doorwings still hurt, even against the couch, but I don't want them to feel bad. Still, I can't lie because of my Asperger's. ~Alive…~
~You're not fine.~
I sigh over the bond. ~You kinda…lay on my doorwings, but I'll live. Aid said they were more sensitive than Prowl's when I told him about it. It's not your fault, I should have moved.~
~You were recharging. We shouldn't have laid on you.~
~Lain, not laid, and I'll survive. Briar always poked me in the back, anyway. I'm used to hurting there. Honest.~
~You shouldn't be. We know better.~
I blink. He sounds like the one off Rescue Bots now. ~I'm fine, Big Guy. I don't blame any of you, and I'll be fine in a few hours. You'll just have to be more careful, because I can't protect them like Aid can his hands.~
I feel a hand on my shoulder. ~At least you're better at telling us when you're hurting than I am.~
I shrug. ~Asperger's. Lying's hard for people with my condition, and I prefer not to. I've only lied about one thing that I can remember…~ I glance down to my left foot. ~And that because I knew it was stupid before I did it, but I did it anyway, and I didn't need them adding insult to injury. That reminds me—never hop up stairs on one foot when you're lost in thought. It will not end well…~ I sigh. ~That's how I initially broke my foot. The nerve damage came from Aaron.~ I sigh over the bond. ~Also from the human voice of experience: don't catch yourself with your hands when your feet slide out from under you, and never drop a fully cooked TV dinner if it's got something that was just boiling inside.~
~Excuse me?~
~My wrists, and my foot. The first story is how I broke my foot, the other two were my wrists. I have RSD in my right hand from a second degree burn after dropping a TV dinner and scalding myself on formerly-boiling liquid from the corn. When that hand was in a brace from possible nerve damage—I hadn't had a real scan on them until Aid got to it yesterday morning—I was at a college dance, in a dance studio with really slick floors, and my feet slid out from under me. I tried to catch myself, and I wound up hurting my other wrist. I keep braces upstairs for them, but they're not bugging me right now.~
~Good to know. Just…don't try to keep anything from us. We won't get upset like your old family would.~
~I don't want you guys upset over my past, first off, and I don't want you guys feeling guilty if you hurt me accidentally. I don't blame you for anything. Compared to my old family, even being used as a bed is nothing.~ I laugh softly, having noticed the others. "You guys wouldn't even let anyone hurt me, let alone do it yourselves. I'm safe here."
I hear Aid sigh. "I hope that's low grade."
I nod. "I remembered your warning. I'm not taking any chances." I shrug. "It's unusual, but it's not unpleasant."
"I need to finish with Brains' leg, but you can come out with me if you want."
"Energon first, Aid."
I can't help but laugh. "I was just about to say that, Spot." I glance down to my little companion. "Well, you need to go with Aid, which means I'm gonna be busy for a while."
"Doing what?"
I glance up to the motorcycle with a sigh. "My furniture, and my stuff from home is supposed to be here today. I'll have to start unpacking, and…" I sigh heavily. "It might take all day…"
"We can help…"
I glance over the four before staring at the blue fire-bot. "Spot…" I sigh. "You're all a bit too big for handling human stuff."
"We can use holoforms." I blink as four identical human men appear in front of me. "Wow…" I sigh softly. "Weren't for Groove and Spot's eyes, I wouldn't be able to tell any of you apart." I smile. "Thanks for the offer, you guys."
"But you don't need us?"
"Actually, I'd be grateful." I smile. "But it'll be…" I glance at my phone. "An hour yet. I'll let you all know when it's here."
One Hour Later
~Guys, it's here!~
~We're on our way. Need help bringing anything in?~
I pause for a moment and look over the still-growing pile of boxes and toats. ~Yes, actually. There's literally a mountain of cardboard and plastic out here.~ I think about that. ~Well, a mountain to my human form, anyway. I'm out front with the truck right now.~
~How are you using the bond in your human form?~
~Still techno-organic, Street, which means I'm still a Protectobot. I'm just in a different form right now.~
"Is that all?"
I nod to the men. "Yes, thank you." I sigh heavily. ~I hate talking to strangers!~
~You have to in our line of work.~
~I know, I did, and I plan to when I get there again, but that doesn't mean I can't hate it in secret—well…not so secret now, huh?~
~Is everything okay?~
~Fine, Aid. I just hate talking to strangers. Not something that can really be dealt with—even when one has a gestalt full of brothers.~ I smirk when I remember something. ~It really fits, now that I think about it…~
~What does?~
~The term gestalt, to combiner teams. They combine to form something greater than the sum of its parts.~
~Unless you're talking about Devastator.~
~True…~ I laugh softly and quickly change forms when I sense them behind me. "Hey, Guys."
"Hey." They look at the mountain of boxes and toats skeptically.
"Our grandparents and great-grandparents spoiled us. I never wanted for stuff. I wanted for love." I shrug. "Besides, I've got you all now. I'll never want for anything again."
It takes almost an hour just to get everything inside. Once the last box is set down, I kneel beside them. For the most part, I'm keeping it inside, but they've got a shed out back in case I don't want to keep something inside.
The first box I open is full of books—I wouldn't doubt it. Even with my Cybertronian frame, it was almost too heavy. "That's a library box." I check another. "So's this one, and…" I remember having about three large toats worth of books, so I check a third. "So's this one." Streetwise, Groove, and Blades move over. "Hold up." I grab my EMS book. "Now, they can go."
While they're doing that, I turn to the next box and open it. "Cat things…"
"Cat things?"
"Two cats." I sigh. "But I didn't see their carriers…"
He points to an old off-white dog crate that seems oddly quiet. "What's that?"
"Pet…" I slap my forehead. "DUH!" I laugh softly. "Pet crate." I sigh. "How's Aid with animal medicine?" He gives me a look. "If Aid's not good with animal medicine, I need to find a vet for them, because I'm good with cats, but not that good."
"He can diagnose, but it may be too hard for him to treat them…"
I kneel beside the crate. "Could you call him in?" I shrug at the confused look. "I don't want to startle him. I'm new to the bond, you guys aren't. He'd expect something from you guys, but maybe not from me. Besides, I've already done that once."
"Ah…" ~Aid, we need you inside.~
I crouch in front of the crate and look in at the miserable-looking cats worriedly. "You two okay in there?" A single pitiful meow comes from the crate. "Oh, baby. It's all right." I stick a finger through the side. "I'll get you two out of their soon enough. Just hang in there a little longer."
~What's wrong, Spot? Did Mari get hurt?~
~No, Aid. She's fine. She wants you to check on her pets.~
~I'm on my way. Is there anything wrong with them that you can see?~
~She hasn't taken them out yet…~
~Ah…~ He sighs over the bond. ~She said they don't travel well. She may be worried about one or both making a mess…~
~And I don't have their litter box set up yet.~ I make a face. ~Disgusting chore, if you ask me, but worth it if you love your pets.~
~Just keep them in your room.~
~It'll keep them from getting hurt.~
~They're used to it, Guys!~ I look up from the crate when Aid walks in. "Hey."
He shuts the door, then kneels beside me. "How do they look?"
"Hot, tired, and scared." I sigh heavily. "And drooly—don't ask." I sigh when I get their confused looks. "They drool, when we go on car trips. They absolutely hate traveling."
"Which is why she called me."
I nod. "Because going to the vet is out of the question, when I don't have a job, and they've just been on a trip for the last two hours. No more car trips until tomorrow at least." I open the crate and grab the youngest first. "This is Miko. She's the reason I'll have to keep their water and litter box in my bathroom."
"Excuse me?"
I shrug. "She splashes in the water dish. It's annoying." I shrug. "But she's so cute I can't throw her out."
"Meow…meow…meow…meow…meow…"
"I know, I know. You hate being held. It's only for a few minutes."
She pushes against me, stops, and then looks up to see Aid. "Hhiissss!"
"Now stop that. Aid's not gonna hurt you." I scratch her on the back, that being the only place I can reach.
"Roooooowwwww!" She slashes at him.
Aid laughs. "Now, now. That can't hurt me, Little One." He turns to me. "She's a little dehydrated, probably from the drooling, but she's fine otherwise."
I nod, and check the door before setting her down. "The next one's mellow, but she hates new things, so be warned." I nod toward Miko. "At least this one doesn't have claws in the front."
"What?" He glares at me. "You had her declawed!? How does she defend herself?"
"Quite well, actually, and no, my mother did." I shrug. "She's my Kitty Soft Paws, and she's protective of me—to the point that she'll lay on top of me when I'm upset."
"Cuddle pile."
I nod. "With me." I shrug. "As the only kitten in her litter, I wouldn't doubt that she'd get a little lonely." I smile slightly. "Looking back, those were the best nights…and days…I could ever ask for." I open the crate and pull her out. "This is Winky."
"Mrow?" She looks up at Aid and growls.
"Now, now, Little Missy. Aid's not dangerous."
He checks her over carefully. "Same as Miko, but—" He looks down to find her licking his hand. "What the—"
"She does that—they both do." I set her down and quickly get the litter box, food, and water set up before returning to the boxes.
The next box I open is full of clothes. I sigh heavily before starting to put them away. "You don't have to stay, Aid. I'm sure you were busy…"
He sighs before nodding. "I need to get back to Brains…"
I nod slightly. "Then go. He needs your help more than I do right now."
"You're sure?"
I nod. "He needs that leg more than I need another set of hands. Go on. We can handle this."
"All right." He sighs. "Come down to the medbay when you're done. I may need your help."
"With Brains?" That seems strange to me. He's not that much of a troublemaker.
"With Ratchet. I'm going to start teaching you today."
"Really?" He nods. "YES!" The cats run for cover. I giggle sheepishly. "Oops… Sorry, girls…" I get a glare from both of them from the open closet door.
"They could give Ratchet a run for his money…"
"Really?" I glance back to my furious cats. "You really think a cranky cat would be worse than Ratchet?" The two share a look before shrugging. "You're a lot of help." I glance back to the boxes and groan softly before sighing. "Back to work."
Cat names have not been changed.
