And yet we both reached for the gun
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes we both
Oh yes we both
Oh yes, we both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
Oh yes, we both reached for the gun
For the gun.

-We Both Reached For The Gun; from the 2002 musical Chicago

"I'm finally done unpacking." Lily Witwicky, letting out a relieved breath, stood in the center of her apartment. She had finally finished unpacking her final box, which meant she could relax and get accustomed to her new living arrangement. Getting her own place was definitely something Lily wanted, but she was very much aware she didn't have the funds to support herself. But having connections to a special branch of the military had its perks. Lily, being only in her mid twenties, was close friends of a good handful of soldiers in a military unit called N.E.S.T. The unit name was an acronym for the Non-Biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty, which, obviously, meant that N.E.S.T. worked alongside aliens. As crazy as that sounded. Those aliens turned out to be the Autobots, a faction of robotic Transformers who had the ability to turn into any machine on the planet. Lily's connection to the Autobots stemmed back a couple years, when the faction made touchdown in suburbia asking a group of teenagers and confused soldiers to help them save the world.

Lily managed to maintain healthy friendships with the Autobots and some of N.E.S.T.'s soldiers, though one of those Autobot friendships turned out to be something else entirely. After months upon months of beating around the bush, Lily managed to maintain a steady romantic relationship with Optimus Prime, leader and commander of the Autobots. As weird as it might sound, the two worked really well together. They understood each other's weaknesses, they acknowledged each other's boundaries, and came to see each other in a way that neither of their friends did. Not even Ironhide, Optimus' weapon's specialist and closest companion, knew Prime the way Lily did. And those two had a close friendship. But Lily's and Optimus' relationship worked; they supported each other in everything they did, and if there was something they didn't particularly like, they'd voice it. There were no secrets between the two, and they wanted to keep it that way.

"Everything's put away?" Optimus, having activated his Holoform, walked out of Lily's new bedroom with a content look on his face. He had helped Lily with her unpacking whenever he had the chance. N.E.S.T. had recently been relocated to Washington D.C., upon the government's request. It had been upon Optimus' request that Lily be moved to the capital as well, so she could at least be nearby in case she was needed. Occasionally she'd help out with the Autobots, but she tried to maintain a healthy, normal lifestyle if she could help it. But when it came down to hunting Decepticons, the Autobots' enemies, it took away from the normal life Lily wanted. The Holoform looked at Lily with a soft expression, those vibrant blue eyes studying the human femme's exhausted demeanor.

"Yes," she responded, looking over at Prime. She gave a small, sheepish smile. "Thank you for helping me. I wouldn't have been able to get this done without you."

Walking over to her, Optimus wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, bringing her close to the Holoform's side. One of the things Lily loved about the Holoform was how sturdy it felt against her. It was almost like it had metal just beneath the skinned surface. Not only that, but Lily felt safe in the Holoform's embrace, just as she'd feel safe if the real Optimus were holding her. "You don't need to thank me," Optimus rumbled, resting his chin atop Lily's head, his arms tightening just a fraction around her waist. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"But you didn't have to," she mumbled, burying her face into the Holoform's chest. "You're busy with the Decepticons and everything. I feel bad taking you away from Lennox and the others." William Lennox, along with his companion Robert Epps, were some of Lily's human friends from N.E.S.T. It was Lennox's idea to start up the military division, and while it was successful, the Autobots managed to be one of the government's worst kept secrets. It wasn't their fault though - with so many Decepticons invading and causing problems, it was hard to keep a low profile.

Pulling back slightly, Prime gave her a small smile. "I promise you, you're not causing any problems for me," he rumbled. "Lennox and the others know I wanted to help you. They wouldn't have stopped me, even if they wanted to."

"OK," Lily mumbled. "But it still makes me feel bad."

Giving her a soft kiss, the Holoform nuzzled its nose against Lily's, an attempt to make her feel better. "My Lily, you worry too much," was Optimus' comment.

"I can't help it," she giggled. "I care about you guys too much."

Optimus gave a rumbled response at that. He was completely aware of how much Lily cared for the Autobots and the human soldiers. They were like a second family to her. All she wanted was for the war with the Autobots and Decepticons to be over so that her friends could live peacefully. Optimus found her wishes to be Spark-warming (with Sparks being the Cybertronian equivalent to a human heart), but he also knew it was incredibly naive. Lily wasn't an experienced soldier like the Autobots were, like Lennox or the others were. Of course, Lily could take down Decepticons, but she hadn't been trained the same way the Autobots or the human soldiers had been. She had to come up with her own method of taking down the enemy. Not only that, but she didn't like comparing herself to any of N.E.S.T.'s forces; she believed she didn't deserve any kind of title or position among them. She'd be there if they really needed her, that was it.

"When do you have to go back to base?" she mumbled.

With a sigh, Optimus kissed the top of Lily's head. "I should be heading back soon," he responded. "Lennox said that we'll be reading up on an attack that happened in New York. The report recently came in and we're expected to report back to our officials on the matter as soon as possible." He looked down at her for a moment. "I'll try to come visit you once I get an opening," he rumbled. "But I feel as though this will be taking up a lot of time."

"I know," Lily said, letting out a sigh of her own. "But you've got a job to do, Optimus. I don't want you putting it off because of me."

The only response Optimus was willing to give Lily was a kiss. He knew better than to argue with her. His job as leader of the Autobots did come with responsibilities, and having to help with N.E.S.T. had its own responsibilities, as well. Lily understood his role as commander, and she had no problem reminding him of that. Optimus knew that she didn't want to be a distraction, to sway him from his position, and that was a part of Lily he deeply respected.

-0-0-0-0-

"What news do you have for me, Starscream?" Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, looked at his second-in-command with scrutinizing red optics. The Decepticons, the more violent, bloodthirsty faction of Cyberton, had been residing on Earth for about as many years, if not more, as the Autobots. It was no secret that the 'Cons craved destruction, no matter what form it came in. So when news came around of a supposed "alien invasion" in New York, with the source of the invasion being one helluva strong energy source, Megatron wanted as much information on it as possible.

"It would seem the energy source is no longer on this wretched planet," Starscream exclaimed distastefully.

A slam of Megatron's fist and a deep growl was enough to show how upset he truly was.

"But...," Starscream exclaimed, stumbling a little over his words. "...there is another energy source that has been left on this planet. One, I believe, you'll find quite useful."

(A/N):

Not the best first chapter, but I can only hope this story gets better. For those of you who don't know, this is a side-story from my main TRANSFORMERS story, CAN'T HOLD US. I thought it'd be a good idea to do an MCU/TRANSFORMERS crossover, and time will tell on whether or not this story will be any good.

MCU/TRANSFORMERS does not belong to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in.

For those of you who want to know more on Lily Witwicky's backstory, you can read my story CAN'T HOLD US. Or, if you're really not up to reading it, just PM me or leave a review and I'll give you a quick sparksnote on her. For those of you who have read CAN'T HOLD US, hopefully you read the author's note I left on that story. For anyone who hasn't, just note that this story won't be following any of the TRANSFORMERS movies, but in regards to MCU, it takes place after the events of the 2012 AVENGERS. This story also won't be having a lot of connections to my previously mentioned story.

Also, if I'm getting any canon characters wrong for either franchise, let me know. I'd hate to get them wrong and then have to rewrite the whole story down the road. So let me know please.

I'll wrap this up for now.

Be kind to one another, don't text and drive, and have a holly jolly Christmas.

Many blessings,

Indigo Callahan